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BEHIND THE VEIL AT THE 
RUSSIAN COURT 













THE IMPERIAL FAMILY OF RUSSIA, 1913 

Nicholas II. and Empress Alix 

Grand Duke Alexis (Tsarevitch) 

Grand Duchesses Olgra, Tatiana. Marie, and Anastasia 

Photos: Boissonnas b' Eggler^ St. Petersburg 



Behind the Veil at 
the Russian Court 

By Count Paul Vassili 



With 
Twenty-Three Illustrations in Photogravure 



John Lane Company 

New York 
1914 



DKa?9 



- ? 1314 



PUBLISHER'S NOTE 

Some thirty years ago considerable interest was aroused 
by the publication, in the Nouvelle Revue, of Letters deal- 
ing with the Society of the different European capitals. 
These letters were by Count Paul Vassili. 

They were clever, amusing, and, it must be owned, 
rather ill-natured letters. People wondered at the extra- 
ordinary amount of truth which they contained, at the 
secrets they revealed. The real name of their author to 
this day has never been disclosed ; yet Count Vassili 
existed. He held an important post at the Russian Court, 
he had travelled widely, and everywhere had been welcomed 
as befitted his rank in the world. Cynical, intelligent, and 
wonderfully observant of everything that went on around 
him, his greatest interest in life was to commit to the 
leaves of a diary all that he saw or heard. 

That diary, which stretches from the time of the 
Crimean War to the present year, it was his intention to 
publish before he died. Alas, death came too soon. The 
Count passed away a few months ago. 

Nevertheless, the volumes which contained this diary 
became accessible, and their contents are now given to 
the public with the conviction that they will be read with 
the same interest that always attended the writings of 
Count VassiU. 

At the same time, we would warn the reader that the 
present volume is not historical, but merely anecdotal. 
Yet sometimes anecdotes are also history. They very 
often explain events wide in their influence over the 
affairs of the world in general and Royal Houses in 



Publisher's Note 

particular, which at first sight seem extraordinary, whilst, 
in reality, they are but the development of some small 
circumstance. 

So far as we know there exists no chronicle of the Rus- 
sian Court, and true anecdotes concerning it are extremely 
rare. Much has been written on the subject by outsiders 
upon hearsay ; but here we have a book penned by a 
man who spent his life in the milieu which he describes, 
who knew intimately the people he writes about, who 
was present at most of the scenes which he describes. 
That alone would ensure an interest to this volume. We 
therefore hope that it will amuse its readers, and per- 
haps contribute in a small degree to reveal the truth con- 
cerning Russian Society and the Imperial Family. 

More we cannot say, except that we leave to Count 
Vassili the entire responsibility of the judgments ex- 
pressed and the facts divulged. 



VI 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Publisher's Note . . . . . . . v 

BOOK I. 1855-1894 

CHAPTER 

1. Nicholas I. Dies 3 

2. Alexander II. on the Throne . . . . i6 

3. Anecdotes of the Imperial Family ... 25 

4. Influence of the Grand Duchess H^lene Pavlovna 38 

5. The Reforms of Alexander II. and His Ministers 48 

6. The Adlerbergs and the Schouvaloffs 

7. St. Petersburg before the War of 1877-8 

8. The Eastern War and Afterwards 

9. The Berlin Congress and its Consequences 

10. Alexander's Love Affairs .... 

11. Assassination of Alexander II. . 

12. Alexander III. and His Consort 

13. The Imperial Family in 1881 

14. The Friends and Ministers of Alexander III. 

15. Alexander III. is Crowned .... 

16. St. Petersburg Society, from 1883 to 1894 

17. The Foreign Policy of Alexander III. 

18. Alexander's Ministers .... 

19. The Police under Alexander III. 

20. The Truth about Borky .... 

21. Last Days at Livadia 

vii 



60 
71 

79 
89 

99 
108 

116 
122 
130 

143 
152 
163 
171 

179 

185 
192 



Contents 



BOOK II. 1894—1913 

CHAPTB« FAGS 

1. Funeral and Wedding Bells .... 203 

2. A Character Sketch of Nicholas II. . . . 221 

3. The Empress Alix 224 

4. The Imperial Family To-day .... 238 

5. Zemstvo of Tver Incident and what came of it . 250 

6. The Entourage of the Emperor and Empress . 261 

7. The Coronation of Nicholas II 270 

8. The Springtide of Discontent . . . . 278 

9. The War with Japan 288 

10. Mukden and Tsushima . . . . . . 296 

11. The Birth of the Tsarevitch .... 308 

12. The Death of Mademoiselle Vietroff. . . 320 

13. The Beginning of the Revolution . . . 324 

14. Peace with Japan ; War at Home . . . 334 

15. The First Two Dumas 343 

16. The Career of M. Stolypin .... 353 

17. A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov . . 364 

18. The Foreign Office under Nicholas II. . . 375 

19. St. Petersburg Society at the Present Day . 383 

20. The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Her 

Children 392 

21. The 300TH Anniversary of a Dynasty . . 399 



vui 



LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES 



The Imperial Family of Russia, 


1913 


• 


Frontispiece 


Facing page 
Emperor Nicholas I i6 


Emperor Alexander II. . 




, 16 


Grand Duke Constantine Nicolaievitch . 




• 34 


Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievitch 




34 


Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch 




34 


Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch. 




34 


Emperor Alexander III 




116 


Empress Marie Feodorovna .... 




116 


Nicholas II., Tsar of Russia . . . , 




212 


Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia 




225 


The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg 




342 


Prince Gortschakov 




- 364 


Count Ignatieff 










364 


M. de Giers 










• 364 


M. Kokovtsov . 










364 


M. Stolpyin 










. 364 


Grand Duchess Olga 










. 392 


Grand Duchess Tatiana 










392 


Grand Duchess Marie 










• 392 


Grand Duchess Anastasia 










• 392 


The Tsarevitch Alexis 










392 



BOOK I. 1855—1894 



BEHIND THE VEIL AT THE 
RUSSIAN COURT 



CHAPTER I 

NICHOLAS I. DIES 

IN the vast halls of the Winter Palace, on the i8th 
of February — the 2nd of March according to the 

Gregorian Calendar — of the year 1855, a great crowd 
was waiting amidst a profound silence and intense grief 
for news it expected as much as it dreaded. 

In the large square in front of the big building which 
had seen enacted within its walls so many momentous 
events in the history of Russia and the life of its Tsars,, 
another crowd was gathered. The whole of the long night 
it had stood there in the snow and cold, with its eyes- 
fixed upon a corner window — ^that of the room where all 
knew their Sovereign lay dying. Women were seen weep- 
ing, for, in spite of what was said abroad, Nicholas was 
beloved by his people, and they felt that his demise, occur- 
ring as it did at a critical moment in the destinies of his 
Empire, was an event fraught with mighty consequences. 
Inside the Palace all the dignitaries of the Court and 
the Military Authorities, as well as those of the Civil Ser- 
vice, also were keeping watch : a sad vigil, which already 
had lasted two days — days full of anxiety both for the 
present and for the future. From time to time a door was 
opened to let in a new arrival, or to give passage to a 

3 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

messenger from the sick-room. At once the messenger 
would be surrounded by eager questioners, but all that 
he could say was that, so far, there had been no change, 
though the doctors had not given up all hope. 

Inside the dying monarch's bedroom his family and 
a few trusted friends were gathered round the small camp 
bed upon which he was lying, fighting for breath. The 
Empress was sitting beside her Consort, holding his hand in 
« hers. At the foot of the bed the Heir to the Throne was 
standing, his eyes fixed upon his father, and with tears 
slowly rolling down his cheeks. They all waited — ^waited 
for the last words of the mighty Sovereign for whom the 
gates of eternity were already opened. They all hoped 
for a sign, a farewell, a recommendation as to what was 
to be done when he would be no more; and in this sad 
^watch they forgot time and aught else, even the news 
irom the distant Crimea, where Russian soldiers were 
defending their country's flag against an angry foe. 

But the dying man had not forgotten. Slowly he 
raised himself upon his hard pillow and beckoned to him 
one of his trusted friends ; with gasping breath he asked 
him : " Any news from Sebastopol ? " and when answered 
that none had come, " A messenger must have arrived 
this morning ; go and ask what news he has brought, and 
tell me — ^tell me everything." 

The friend went out ; when he returned, his face was 
white, because he knew that the message which he brought 
was one of woe. But one thing he could tell, and that 
was that Sebastopol still held out, and that it could resist 
longer than the enemy expected. That he told. Nicholas 
listened in silence, and then in a clear voice, such as had not 
been heard since the beginning of his short illness, he said : 

" I send them my thanks, my blessing, my gratitude ; 
tell them so." 

4 



Nicholas I. Dies 

The Heir to the Throne came closer to his father, and 
knelt beside him. 

,^ " Hear me, my son/* spoke the d5dng man. ** You are 
going to be a great Emperor to-morrow. Love your people, 
do for them that which I was not able to do ; conclude 
peace if you can, but an honourable peace. Do not trust 
to Austria, and do not forget its ingratitude for the help 
which I gave it in 1848. Austria is our enemy, I see it 
too late. . . . Love your mother, reverence her always, 

f»and do not allow your dreams to take the upper hand. 
A Sovereign has no right to dream. He can only work, and 
endure. I know you want to give the serfs their liberty ; 
I have wished it too, and you will find among my papers 
documents concerning this subject ; but, my son, take 
care : a nation easily abuses liberty if granted to it too soon. 
Do not estrange yourself from the nobility : it is the 
strength of Russia, together with our Holy Church ; and 
remember that if you show yourself too great a Liberal, 
you will only create difficulties for yourself, and you will 
not die in your bed as I do ; you will fall under an assassin's 
knife." 

Profound silence reigned in the room after these solemn 
words had been spoken ; the Empress was quietly crying, all 
the Imperial Family stood gathered round her. Nicholas I. 
scanned all these sorrowful faces, and sighed as if not 
seeing among them one whom he expected to be there, 
and from his parched lips came out one word, a single 

^•name : " Barbara." Then the Empress got up, and going 
out of the room, returned soon in company with a woman 
whom she was holding by the hand. She led her to her 
husband's bedside, saying softly : " Bid good-bye to him." 
" Merci, madame," was the broken reply, as, bending 
down, Mademoiselle N^lidoff kissed the Emperor's hand, 
sobbing heartbrokenly as she did so ; and he repeated the 

5 



Behind the V^eil at the Russian Court 

words after her, " Merci, Charlotte/* thus caUing the wife 
of his youth by the name she bore in that past but not 
forgotten time when he first knew her, before the Crown 
of All the Russias had been put upon her head. 

And that was all. The dying man only spoke to utter 
words of thanks to the faithful servants who surrounded 
him, and then his voice was heard no more, save to pray 
to the God to Whom he was about to give up his soul. 

A priest was called, who gave him a last blessing, and 
then calmly, fearlessly, clinging to his wife's hand and 
to a crucifix which he pressed upon his breast, Nicholas I. 
breathed his last. 

•• The doors of the bedroom were thrown open, and 
Alexander II. appeared upon the threshold as he passed 
from the chamber of death into the Throne Room, where 
his courtiers were gathered. To them he said with a 
broken voice : 

" Au nom de mon pere je vous r enter cie pour vos 
services, messieurs." And later on, when the emotion of 
the first moment had passed, it was noticed and com- 
mented upon that the first words of the new Sovereign 
to his people had been uttered in French, as if to lay claim 
to the tendencies of which he had been suspected during 
his father's reign. 

At the same moment the large window opening on to 
the balcony overlooking the square in front of the Winter 
Palace was unclosed. An aide-de-camp general appeared, 
and addressing the crowd standing outside : " Our Most 
Gracious Sovereign the Emperor Nicholas Paulovitch is 
dead," he said in a loud voice ; " let us pray for his soul ! " 

The crowd fell upon their knees, and the chant of the 

solemn service rose and fell in harmonious cadence 

amidst the noises of the street, which were hushed as 

soon as the sad strains were heard. 

6 



Nicholas I. Dies 

So began a new reign. 

The one that had thus come to a tragic close had been 
one of the most eventful in Russian history. Nicholas I. 
♦♦*was unmistakably a great Sovereign, the last one of that 
autocratic type that had given to the world Ivan the 
Terrible, Peter the Great, and, in a certain sense, 
Catherine II. 

He had ascended the Throne surrounded by solemn 
circumstances, amidst almost overwhelming difficulties, 
with his Empire in the throes of a rebellion that had for 
its leaders some of the greatest nobles in Russia. The 
time was not yet forgotten when these nobles had dethroned 
their emperors, and some of the assassins of Paul were 
still alive to encourage by their example those inclined 
to follow in their footsteps. 

Many, even amongst the people, did not believe that 
Alexander I. had died in Taganrog ; many others did not 
recognise the abdication and surrender of his right to the 
Crown of the Grand Duke Constantine in favour of his 
brother. They looked upon Nicholas as a usurper. When 
the standard of rebellion was raised during that eventful 
month of December, 1825, it was the conspirators who 
were supposed to be fighting for the right cause and the 
supporters of Nicholas for the wrong one. As for the 
people, they understood so little what was going on that 
they believed the famous Constitution, about which so 
many were speaking, was the work of the Emperor Con- 
stantine, as he was supposed to be. 

^* When the public anxiety and emotion in St. Peters- 
burg was at its height, when half of the troops had already 
gone over to the mutineers, Nicholas I. showed of what 
stuff he was made. Entrusting his wife and children to a 
few trusted followers, he appeared alone and unarmed on 
the square in front of the Winter Palace, and in a thunderous 

7 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

*• ♦voice commanded the crowd to fall upon their knees and 

obey his orders. And such is the strength of a really strong 

personality, in alliance with a fearless disposition, that he 

was instantly obeyed, and soon an immense " Hurrah ! " 

greeted him from those same people who, a few short 

moments before, had been ready to tear him to pieces. 

In this manner was the rebelHon crushed at once. 

Its leaders were ruthlessly punished. A Prince Trou- 

betzkoy, a member of the illustrious family of Volkhonsky, 

a Muravieff apostle, the noblest blood in Russia, saw 

themselves condemned and treated like vulgar criminals. 

••Siberia witnessed a long procession of chained convicts, 

reminding it of the times when Menschikoff, Biren, and 

many others expiated the misfortune of having fallen under 

Imperial disgrace. Women gave a touching example of 

devotion to their husbands and to their duty. The Princess 

Troubetzkoy, the Princess Volkhonsky, as well as the 

wives of other conspirators, claimed as a favour the right 

to share their husbands' exile and prison. There, in the 

wilds of the Siberian woods, they gave birth to children, 

who, later on, were to be restored to the fortunes of their 

fathers and to their rank. And, strange to say, no word 

of rebellion was said, no murmur was heard ; they all 

suffered bravely, thus showing that they were worthy of 

the great names which they bore. 

But this conspiracy of the 14th of December, as it 

is still called, embittered the character of the Emperor 

Nicholas. It affected, also, the gentle Empress, who con- 

, tracted, from sheer fright for her dear ones, a nervous 

affliction, which caused perpetual trembling of her head, 

of which she never was cmred. 

•"The dreams which every new Sovereign indulges in 

when he ascends his Throne were rudely dispelled from the 

very first, and since that sad day the spectre of revolution 

8 



Nicholas I. Dies 

never left the Emperor's side. It influenced all his actions, 
and it imparted to him a hardness absolutely foreign to 
►his original nature.* He firmly believed himself to have 
been designed by Providence to crush revolution, and he 
devoted all his energies to that task. 

Later events transpired which encouraged him still 
more in that decision and confirmed his belief. He found 
himself confronted, immediately after a long and difficult 
war with Turkey, by the Polish rebellion. That was a 
bitter blow to his pride and heart. He had loved the Polish 
army, had firmly thought he could do away with the pre- 
judices that existed against him and his nation in Poland ; 
he had had himself crowned in Warsaw, and had showered 
graces and gifts upon his Polish subjects. All that was 
forgotten ; he found himself surrounded by traitors, even 
among those whom he thought he could trust, if only on 
account of the old French proverb : " Noblesse oblige" 
And they had turned against him — ^those whom he had 
loved. Prince Sanguszko, who had been his personal 
aide-de-camp ; Prince Adam Tsartoryski, who had been 
the intimate friend and confidant of Alexander I. — they all 
went over to the mutineers. Personal ambition had a 
great deal to do with this action. It is said, even, that 
Prince Tsartoryski addressed himself to Nicholas I., asking 
him to recognise him as Viceroy of Poland, in return for 
which he would undertake to put an end to the rebellion. 
The message did not reach the Emperor, as the person 
who was asked to transmit it categorically refused to do 
so. One can well fancy in what spirit it would have been 
received had it come to the Emperor's ears. But all the 
nobleness in the character of Nicholas I. revolted at this 
base ingratitude, and, as a result of these blows dealt him 
by fate, he became a hard and embittered man, relent- 
less sometimes, stem always. They say he rarely smiled, 

9 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and yet his was a gentle nature, full of kindness and 
generosity such as is rarely met with in a Sovereign, and 
profoundly unselfish. 

All those who knew him well, his family, his entourage, 
his children, his servants, they all would have given up 
their Hves for him with joy. No one ever appealed to him 
for relief in vain. He loved to do good, to help others. 
The only things which he could not forgive, because he 
despised them, were ingratitude, or want of self-respect. 
He had principles, and what is more, he lived up to 
them. He never would consent to any compromise, and 
this perhaps was the primary cause of the unfortunate 
Crimean War. 

He had hurt the vanity of Napoleon IH. by refusing 
him the title of Monsieur mon frere, and so declining 
to admit him as an equal to the circle of European 
Sovereigns. 

He sent his troops to help the Austrian Government 
to subdue the revolt of the Magyars because he believed 
it was his duty to do so, without any illusion as to the 
reward which he would get for this act of chivalry. 

Talking of this reminds me of an episode connected 
with that event. When Nicholas had decided to send his 
troops to Hungary, he announced his resolution in the 
town of Moscow, at the Kremlin Palace, to the nobility 
and the notables of the ancient capital. His words were 
received with immense enthusiasm, and a loud ** Hurrah ! ** 
was the reply to them. The Emperor looked round him, 
and suddenly noticed that one of his personal friends, the 
same man who seven years later was to bring him for the 
last time before he died news of Sebastopol, that that 
man alone kept silent and in the background. When all 
was over and the Sovereign had retired to his own 
rooms, he had him called and asked him : " Why did you 

lO 



Nicholas I. Dies 

not shout ' Hurrah ! ' with the rest ? " " Because I was 
thinking of the day when Austria would astonish your 
Majesty with its ingratitude," was the unexpected reply. 
Nicholas sighed. '* You may be right," he said, after a 
pause, ''but I haven't sent my troops to help Austria, 
I have sent them to help a brother Sovereign." 

This anecdote gives the key to the character of this 
extraordinary monarch, the Sir Galahad of crowned heads, 
who up to the last moment would not believe that England 
and France would fight against him for the interests of 
Turkey, and who never wavered in his trust in Queen 
Victoria, whom he immensely admired since the visit 
which he had paid to her at Windsor when she was quite 
a young wife, and whose portrait adorned his writing-table 
to the last days of his life. Intensely as he hated English 
politicians and politics, he made a distinction between the 
Queen and her Ministers, and whilst distrusting the latter, 
had the utmost respect for the former, though at the same 
time not being able to understand the mechanism of con- 
stitutional government, nor how impossible it was for an 
English Sovereign to go against her Parliament or the 
opinion of her responsible advisers. He attributed to 
timidity on the part of Queen Victoria the failure of his 
attempt to come to a direct understanding with her, as 
he had tried to establish by means of a correspondence, 
which had not relieved the tension existing between the 
Court of St. James and that of St. Petersburg in regard 
to the Eastern Question; and anyone who would have 
told him that his personality was not sympathetic to the 
Queen would have profoundly surprised him. In his 
opinion all Sovereigns ought to like one another, and 
prejudice in regard to each other was a thing he would 
not admit, any more than he would admit the right of 

intruders, such as, in his opinion, were Napoleon III. and 

II 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Loiiis Philippe, to hold their own against monarchs " by 
the grace of God." 

Nicholas I. has been accused of being narrow-minded. 
This was not the case at all, but he was extremely firm 
in his opinions, and not empty of prejudices. His hatred 
of revolution was keen, because he held that one never 
knew where it would lead to, nor how it would end. His 
mother, the Empress Marie Feodorovna, had brought 
him up to feel a horror and execration of the French 
Revolution, and that mother he worshipped. She had 
been a visitor at the Court of France during the reign 
of Louis XVI., and had formed an enthusiastic friendship 
for the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, who had welcomed 
so heartily the Comte and Comtesse du Nord during their 
journey to France. The fate of the hapless Queen was 
a frequent subject of conversation among the Imperial 
Family in St. Petersburg, and it is no wonder that it ex- 
cited hatred against all the instruments of it. Moreover> 
the French emigrants had been very well received by the 
Empress Catherine, and they had rapidly spread their 
prejudices against the new ideas among the Russian aris- 
tocracy, and at that time it was the aristocracy alone 
who ruled pubhc opinion. It upheld all Nicholas's pre- 
judices, even outdid them, and certainly no one was bold 
enough to tell him that they were, perhaps, stretched too 
far, and that the world must advance on the road of pro- 
gress and liberty. 

But the Emperor, in spite of this shortcoming of his 
otherwise powerful mind, was fully aware that his country 
ought to follow to a certain point the development of 
science, literature and politics of the rest of Europe. What 
he wanted was to regulate that development, and there 
was his error. The human mind cannot be treated hke a 
soldier at drill. It must be left a certain latitude of criticism 

12 



Nicholas I. Dies 

and liberty, if only to neutralise its efforts at independence. 
This the Emperor did not admit. He considered literary 
men in the light of pests, and was sensible to the apprecia- 
tions of the press when these were directed against his 
Government, whilst totally indifferent when they touched 
his own person. Curious mixture of haughtiness and sensi- 
tiveness, which no one who did not know him well could 
understand. 

In his private life Nicholas I. was, above all things, a 
gentleman. His wife he loved tenderly, and always and 
upon every occasion treated her with the utmost respect. 
He was not a ladies' man like his son. Indeed the only 
liaison which he had, and which was known, and not 
merely suspected in Society, was his love for Mademoiselle 
Nelidoff, a maid of honour of the Empress, who had 
succeeded in captivating him by the cleverness of her 
mind, and who loved him on her side as few men have 
ever been loved by women. 

Mademoiselle Nelidoff was a remarkable person. Few 
have been gifted with such tact, such intelligence, such 
penetration, and such a spirit of self-sacrifice as she showed 
during the whole of her long life. Her intimacy with the 
Emperor lasted many years, and never once did she allow 
herself to fail in the least mark of respect towards the 
Empress, or to assert herself in any way. She was always 
humble in her demeanour towards the latter, always sub- 
missive, never aggressive in the least. Nicholas used to 
come to her rooms every afternoon to talk over the events 
of the day ; but the most bitter enemy of Mademoiselle 
N61idoff could not say that she ever mixed herself up in 
pontics, or tried to play a role in Society, as many so 
circumstanced would have done. She maintained the 
dignity of her womanhood so well that the world, whilst 
it knew, yet could not affirm that she had won the affec- 

13 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

tions of her Sovereign, who, in his turn, never showed to 
her in pubHc any particular attention. The only time 
that he ever did so was at the very beginning of their 
liaison, during a review in the park of Tsarskoye Selo. 
The Empress, as usual in such cases, drove in front of 
the troops, in an open carriage with her lady-in-waiting, 
who happened on that day to be Mademoiselle Nelidoff. 
The Emperor, who was on horseback, accompanied the 
carriage, and with an affectation totally foreign to his 
usual strict observance of the conventions of life, remained 
the whole time beside the carriage, and bending from his 
saddle, talked with the young maid of honour, who in her 
turn became white and red, and appeared to be very un- 
happy. The Empress, too, was quite upset, and an eye- 
witness of this occurrence related afterwards that she 
was with difficulty restraining her tears. But apart from 
this single occasion, never once did Nicholas show in public 
that he was interested in the charm of character and con- 
versation of Mademoiselle Nelidoff. 

The latter contrived to keep the good graces of her 
Imperial mistress, and ended by winning her heart by 
her tact and submissiveness. And when the Emperor was 
dying, it was the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself 
who had the generosity to bring to her husband's bedside, 
for a last farewell, the woman who had loved him so well. 

Mademoiselle Nelidoff never appeared in Society after 
the Emperor's death. She continued living at the Winter 
Palace, and went on fulfilling her duties to the Dowager 
Empress until at length the latter died. Then gradually 
the name of the woman who had won the heart of Nicholas I. 
was forgotten. She retired entirely from the world, and, 
save a very few chosen friends, never received anyone, or 
ever spoke about the past. The silence of the grave closed 
upon her long before she was dead. Her constant visitors 



Nicholas I. Dies 

were her brother-in-law, the husband of her deceased 
sister, and his two sons, whom she dearly loved, but even 
with them she remained silent as to the great drama of 
her life. No word ever passed her lips concerning those 
past years of her youth, no confidence was exchanged 
with anyone as to what she had felt whilst her romance 
had lasted. She died at a very advanced age a year 
or two before the closing of last century, after having 
burned all the papers or letters which she possessed. 
The newspaper notices that she had passed away was 
the first intimation received by many of those to whom 
her name was familiar from childhood, of the fact that she 
had not long before passed from the land of the living to 
that of eternal peace and rest. 



'5 



CHAPTER II 

ALEXANDER II. ON THE THRONE 

At the time he ascended the Throne Alexander II. was 
very popular. People had begun to get tired of the 
despotic rule of his father, and the Crimean War with its 
loss of life and prestige and the disasters which it had 
brought upon the nation had, as is usual in such cases, 
aroused discontent against the existing order of things. 
Many Russians who had lived abroad, and witnessed the 
perturbations occasioned in the whole of Europe by the 
Revolution of 1848, held the opinion that in Russia, too, 
something ought to be done to meet the aspirations of 
the intelligent classes of Society towards an improvement 
in the Government. The great qualities of the Emperor 
Nicholas were not questioned, but it was felt that a monarch 
could not be everywhere, nor see for himself all the needs 
of the nation, and that with a Sovereign less conscientious 
than he was a system of absolutism such as he had main- 
tained w^as not possible. The Heir to the Throne, on 
the contrary, was credited with the desire to govern more 
or less according to constitutional principles, to try and 
introduce into Russia some of the reforms that had gradu- 
ally permeated the rest of Europe. It was known that 
his great ambition was to emancipate the serfs, that he 
was humane, kind, and not the partisan of a tyrannical 
inquisition as to the opinions of his future subjects. As 
is usual in Royal Houses, the Emperor and his son had 
been at variance on many points, and all those who were 

16 




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Alexander II. on the Throne 

tired of Nicholas looked towards his successor to reform 
the many abuses that were known to exist. The Crimean 
War had been opposed by him, and this alone would have 
made him popular ; and yet, when the event dreaded 
by a few and desired by many had taken place, when the 
remains of Nicholas had been laid to rest with those of 
his ancestors in the fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul^ it 
was felt that somehow a great light had gone out, and 
that it remained a question whether the critical condition 
of the country could be bettered by the efforts of his 
successor. Alexander II. also had enemies ; these for the 
most part were men in power whom it was difficult to 
remove at such a moment of national peril, and between 
them and his own personal friends, who wanted to replace 
them at once, the new Sovereign found himself in a most 
difficult and embarrassing position, from whence he had 
not sufficient strength of will to extricate himself. 

The young Emperor had a great defect, which, to a 
certain extent, is inherited by his grandson, the present 
Tsar, and that is a lack of firmness and endurance in his 
character. He was easily influenced, easily led, and apt 
to be easily discouraged by the slightest difficulty. Exceed- 
ingly sensitive, he never forgave an injury or pardoned a 
criticism. At heart he was really more autocratic than 
his father, but, having been brought up with immense 
care and by people imbued with Liberalism as it was under- 
stood at that time in Russia, he exhibited a curious mix- 
ture of despotic and revolutionary ideas. Some may think 
it anomalous to apply the term " revolutionary " to a 
Tsar of Russia, but was not the emancipation of the serfs 
a revolution ? Not in its fact, but in the way in which 
it was conducted. Nicholas had dreamed about it, but he 
had realised that a reform of such magnitude could not be 
rushed ; he saw in it dangers of further conspiracies against 

C ij 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the Throne, such as that of December 14, but of greater 
possibilities, because they would not be confined to the 
upper classes, but would be the revolt of unknown forces 
of the nation against an authority which for ages had 
refused to acknowledge their existence. 

Alexander II. was devoid of the power of realising the 
consequences of events, and only gave his attention to the 
difficulties of the moment. There was in him a strange 
blending of superstition and recklessness which he never 
lost during his whole life. He was humane, and at the 
same time could become intensely cruel ; he was vin- 
dictive — ^the greatest defect that a Sovereign can have — 
and his vindictiveness persisted throughout his life. He 
was intelligent, cultured, but not clever ; he had none 
of the qualities indispensable to a great statesman, and 
depended for his opinions to a large extent on those by 
whom he was surrounded, and of these the men who flat- 
tered him most had the greatest influence. He was exceed- 
ingly vain, and the many mistakes that marked the close 
of his reign arose in part from wounded vanity. He had 
principles ; indeed, it would have been impossible for his 
father's son to be without them, but he did not live up 
to them, and at times he could act like the most unprin- 
cipled of men. Few understood him, and it is doubtful 
whether he understood himself, but he had full conscious- 
ness of his power, and of all that it gave him, whilst not 
overburthened with the sense of the responsibility that 
it entailed, which Nicholas I. had felt so acutely. With 
several of his father's failings, he had none of the grand 
traits of the latter's character ; he was the type of an 
absolute Sovereign, but not that of an autocrat ; he could 
neither punish nor forgive with dignity, and though he 
gave easily, yet his was not a generous nature. 

In the year of grace 1855, however, few were acquainted 

18 



Alexander II. on the Throne 

with the character of Alexander 11. That character, indeed, 
did not reveal itself in its true light until after the dis- 
appointments of his reign had done their work. At first 
the whole nation gave itself up to the task of helping the 
Emperor, and when he received the solemn oath of alle- 
giance to his Crown from the principal dignitaries of the 
Empire, on the morrow of his father's death, he was greeted 
by them with very sincere enthusiasm. The ceremony 
took place in the private chapel of the Winter Palace, in 
the presence of the whole Imperial Family, including the 
Empress Mother, who with indomitable courage was present 
in order to support her son. She was dressed all in white, 
in accordance with the Russian convention, which forbids 
the wearing of mourning at the accession festivities of a 
Sovereign. The young Empress, too, appeared in a white 
dress, unadorned, however, with a single jewel, and it was 
noticed by everybody with what reverence she approached 
her mother-in-law and kissed the latter's hand, bending so 
low that her knees almost touched the ground. 

The Emperor every now and then wiped his eyes with 
the back of his hand, and after the ceremony addressed 
a few words to the members of his military household, 
thanking them for their past services and asking them 
to show to him the same devotion that they had shown 
to his father. He then also solemnly transmitted to them 
the touching message of gratitude which Nicholas had 
caused to be inserted in his will, and which was addressed 
by him to all those who had held office under him. He 
added a few words of his own expressing the hope that 
peace, honourable peace, would soon be concluded. The 
speech was delivered in Russian, so as to be understood 
by all. It was very favourably received both at home 
and abroad, and the European Bourses rose in consequence. 
The general situation, however, was still felt to be full of 

^9 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

danger and anxiety ; everyone knew that the task before 
the new Sovereign was arduous in the extreme, and that 
it was impossible for him to begin anything in the way 
of interior reforms until peace had been concluded. 

At length the Congress met in Paris, thus increasing 
the prestige of the Napoleonic dynasty which Nicholas had 
always refused to acknowledge, and though Alexander II. 
did not like him, it was Count Orloff, the trusted and 
intimate friend of his father, who was appointed by him as 
his representative at this assembly, upon which the fate 
of Russia depended. 

Count — afterwards Prince — Orloff was one of the curious 
figures of the previous reign. He was a stern old man, even 
more autocratic perhaps than his master, but kind at 
heart, and always careful not to abuse the power which he 
wielded. He was the head of the famous " Third Section," 
as it was called, or the Department of the Secret Police, 
of the Empire, and had the right to seek his Sovereign's 
presence unannounced whenever he thought it necessary. 
At that time it was usual for Court society to carry all its 
family grievances to the foot of the Throne, and to ask 
the Emperor to pronounce a final verdict upon them. 
That verdict always depended on the report made by the 
head of the Third Section, and to Count Orloff's credit it 
must be said that he never profited by the family secrets 
with which his office had made him familiar. He was 
the type of an old Russian grand seigneur or harine., as the 
Russian peasantry say, with a dignity that never left him 
for a single moment, even in the most trying circumstances ; 
a man who fearlessly expressed his opinion to his Emperor 
as well as to those with whom he came into contact in his 
official position. He was intensely feared, but at the same 
time immensely respected. The nation knew that its 
honour was safe in his hands, and he was perhaps the only 

20 



Alexander II. on the Throne 

man in Russia with sufficient authority to sign the Treaty 
of Paris ; the humiliation of which would never have 
been forgiven to anyone else. 

Before he left for France he was received in audience 
by the young Empress Marie Alexandrovna, and it was 
related then that she asked him to notice particularly the 
Empress Eugenie and her manners and dresses. The old 
man replied brusquely that he was not sent to the French 
Court to pay any attention to a crowned adventuress, and, 
added he, " Vous devriez, madame, etre la dernier e d vous 
inter esser d ce monde Id / " 

Of course, I do not vouch for the truth of the anec- 
dote, but it was related everywhere at the time. 

Count Orloff received the title of Prince on his return 
from Paris, and died not very long afterwards. He left 
an only son, who for a great number of years represented 
his Government on the banks of the Seine, under the 
Third Republic. His widow, nee Gerebtsoff, an exceedingly 
clever woman, gifted with a very caustic wit, which made 
her rather disliked in St. Petersburg, retired to Florence, 
where she possessed a splendid palace, and passed her 
life there is quasi royal state. She was a favourite with 
the Emperor Nicholas, who appreciated her austerity of 
principles and her devotion to the Imperial House, but it 
was said that the Empress stood in awe of her, and the 
Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses feared her exceedingly. 
Her verdicts in Society were dreaded, and either made or 
marred worldly reputations. She execrated the Princess 
Lieven, and used to declare that social spies — ^as she called 
people with the political proclivities of the famous Princess 
— ^were just as contemptible as those who did the dirty 
work of a spy for money. She could not forgive meanness, 
and she considered it the worst of meannesses to repeat 
what had been told one in confidence. Entirely trusted by 

21 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

her husband, she knew more Imperial and social secrets 
than anyone else in St. Petersburg, and never could she 
be accused of an indiscretion. Princess Orloff was a great 
character ; and it is to be regretted that the type of woman 
she represented has almost ceased to exist. 

The great event after peace had been concluded was 
the Coronation of the new Emperor. Every European 
State sent representatives to attend it, and it was the 
grandest ceremony witnessed for many years even in 
Russia. France was represented by the Due de Morny, 
Napoleon's half-brother, and to this day are related anec- 
dotes of the mercantile spirit that characterised that 
illegitimate descendant of a queen, and that made him 
use his position, and the accruing privileges, to con- 
duct financial operations which turned out to be very 
profitable. For instance, he took with him, under the 
diplomatic privilege which exempted him from Customs 
dues, a whole cellar of the rarest wines, which he after- 
wards sold to his acquaintances at prices perhaps higher 
than they would have paid to a wine merchant. He 
also transported among his luggage his picture gallery, 
already famous at the time, and he sold or exchanged some 
of his art treasures under most favourable conditions. 
But he lavished on Russian Society splendid hospitality, 
and won all his lady friends' hearts by the amiability with 
which he brought them dresses and hats from Paris. His 
mission was most successful, because his tact was great, 
and his appreciation of men and things generally a true 
one, based as it was on shrewd observation as much as 
on personal intuition. Before he left Russia he married 
the young Princess Troubetzkoy, whom rumour said was 
a favourite of Alexander II. Her mother had served as 
a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 
and was the subject of much Court gossip when Prince 

22 



Alexander II. on the Throne 

Troubetzkoy gallantly stepped in, and made her his wife. 
The Duchesse de Morny was their only daughter. 

Austria was represented at the Coronation of Alexander 
II. by Prince Esterhazy, whose wonderful diamonds, with 
which his Hungarian costume was trimmed, excited an 
immense sensation ; England's representative was Lord 
Granville, whose ball was one of the most splendid 
given during the time of the festivities. Belgium 
had dispatched the Prince de Ligne, who, though 
the first personage of the kingdom, was not perhaps 
so warmJy welcomed as would have been the case had his 
wife not been a Pole by birth, a Princess Lubomirska ; 
Prussia had sent Prince Frederick William, who in later 
years was to become the first Crown Prince of United 
Germany. In truth, nothing was lacking to make this 
pageant a memorable one in the fullest sense of the term. 

Fair women also graced it with their presence, and fore- 
most amorg them were the two sisters of the Emperor, the 
Grand Duchesses Marie and Olga Nicolaievna, the latter 
married to the Crown Prince of Wiirtemberg, and his 
sister-in-law, the lovely Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Alten- 
burg, married to the Grand Duke Constantine. Pictures 
can give but a faint idea of her extreme beauty, and her 
marvellous grace. For years she was a conspicuous figure 
at Court, where her husband also had a prominent position 
and great influence over his brother, who frequently took 
his opinion and advice. He was supposed to be the pro- 
moter of Liberal reforms, and consequently was disliked 
by the Old Russian party. In spite of certain apprehensions 
the Coronation festivities passed off quite brilliantly, and 
without the slightest hitch. They had in a certain sense 
helped to allay the state of tension that had existed between 
the Cabinets of Paris and St. Petersburg ever since the 

accession of Napoleon to the French Throne. The Due de 

23 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Morny had succeeded in ingratiating himself in the good 
graces of Alexander II., who was always keenly sensitive 
to those gifts of small talk and conversation that the half- 
brother of the ruler of France possessed to such perfection. 
He would have liked Morny permanently as Ambassador in 
St. Petersburg, and Prince Gortschakov — who at that time 
was already at the head of Foreign Affairs in Russia — would 
have felt pleased had this been the case. The relations 
between the two statesmen remained always cordial, even 
when those of their respective countries suffered again an 
alteration owing to the unfortunate Polish mutiny in 1863. 
It was at that time that De Morny wrote to the Imperial 
Chancellor in the following terms : 

" 29 Novembre, 1863. 
"MoN CHER Prince, 

" Voire lettre ma fait plaisir et peine ; piaisir pour ce 
qui me concerne personnellement, peine pour ce qui a rapport 
aux relations entre nos deux pays. En fin, j'espere toujours 
qu'elles s'amelioreront, et vous pourrez compter sur moi pour 
y travailler.'* 

^ Unfortunately for himself, and perhaps for France, the 
Due de Morny was not destined to see the improvement in 
French relations which eventually resulted in the Franco- 
Russian alliance. 



^4 



CHAPTER III 

ANECDOTES OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY 

When Alexander II. ascended the Throne the Imperial 
family was composed of his three brothers, two sisters, 
his aunt the Grand Duchess Helene Pavlovna (widow of 
the youngest brother of the Emperor Nicholas I.) and 
her daughter the Grand Duchess Catherine (married to 
Duke George of Mecklenburg, and living with her husband 
in St. Petersburg) and of Prince Peter of Oldenburg, the 
son of the Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, the youngest 
daughter of the late Emperor Paul. 

We shall refer to all these august personages in turn, 
but will begin by mentioning the two Empresses, the wife 
and the mother of the new Tsar. 

The Empress Marie Alexandrovna was a fair, slight 
woman, very delicate in health, who during the first years 
of her marriage had led a singularly quiet existence in 
which her numerous babies played an important part. Her 
husband had fallen in love with her, much to the surprise 
of everybody. He had been sent to Germany with the 
idea of marrying him to a German princess of higher rank 
than the daughter of the Duke of Hesse, but the latter had 
appealed to him by her meek manner and kindness of 
disposition. She had led a most unhappy life at home, 
and therefore looked upon her marriage with the Grand 
Duke Alexander quite as much as a means of escape from 
that as a brilliant match, such as reasonably she could not 
have hoped for ; and her feeling of intense gratitude towards 

25 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

him made her later on bear with an extraordinary patience 
his numerous infidehties. 

Whilst her mother-in-law lived, Marie Alexandrovna 
never asserted herself in the least, but later on she developed 
a great interest in the numerous charitable institutions placed 
under her patronage, and especially in the education of 
young girls belonging to the poorer nobility. So long as 
her health permitted her to do so, she regularly visited 
the various institutions where they were brought up, and 
personally superintended the yearly examinations, knowing 
the schoolgirls by name and later on following them in 
their future careers. She was very reserved, very religious, 
very good, excessively conscientious, and devoted to every- 
thing Russian and orthodox. During the months pre- 
ceding the Turkish War of 1877, she openly supported the 
Slavonic party, and was very much under the influence 
of a certain coterie, of which the most prominent members 
were her confessor. Father Bajanov, and one of her ladies- 
in-waiting, the Countess Antoinette Bloudoff, about whom 
we shall have something more to say later on. Very un- 
happy in her married life, she sought in religion a comfort 
for the deceptions which she felt very bitterly, but never- 
theless was too proud to admit. Extremely cultured, she 
used to read a great deal, and was au courant with every- 
thing that went on either in the literary or the scientific 
world. Politics interested her greatly, though she would 
never express a political opinion in public. 

Few princesses have controlled a Court to the degree 
of perfection that she did, and her manner, in that respect, 
never left anything to be desired ; nevertheless, her receptions 
were always cold, and it was difficult to feel at one's ease 
in her presence. She was extremely respected, but she 
never unbent, though full of sympathy for the woes or 
joys of others. At first she had tried to be of use to her 

26 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

husband, but soon found out that he had very little time 
to give to her, and that her constant ill health bored him 
to the extreme. All her hopes and ambitions, therefore, 
had turned and were centred upon her eldest son, the Grand 
Duke Nicholas, to whose education she had attended with 
the greatest care, going so far as to read the same books 
that he did, and to practically follow with him his 
course of studies. She loved him passionately, and her 
affection was fully justified, for the young man was not 
only attractive in the extreme, but also gifted with the 
rarest qualities of heart and mind. There is no doubt that 
had his life been spared he would have made a remarkable 
Sovereign, but he died at the early age of twenty-two years, 
from the results of a fall from his horse, which caused 
a disease of the spine. He was about to be married to 
the Princess Dagmar of Denmark. The Empress never 
recovered from this blow, and from then her own health 
began steadily to decline. She grew silent and melan- 
choly, and her sadness increased still more after her 
only daughter's marriage with the Duke of Edinburgh, 
and consequent departure to live in England. Then came 
further disappointments, political anxieties, all the terrors 
of Nihilism and its constant menace to the Emperor. 
Domestic sorrows, too, ensued — the association of Alex- 
ander II. with the Princess Dolgorouky ; and at last, when 
the poor Empress died, it was more from a broken heart 
than from the illness from which she had suffered for a 
number of years. 

Marie Alexandrovna was strict upon all matters of 
etiquette, and during her reign precedence was observed 
at Court in the most rigid manner. She was not very 
popular among Royal circles in Europe, partly on account 
of that devotion to ceremonial, which became almost an 
obsession with her. She had a very high opinion of her 

27 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

rank as Empress of Russia, and it is said that when she 
went to England on the occasion of the birth of the first 
child of the Duchess of Edinburgh, she was not satisfied 
with the reception she had there, and declared that she 
would never return to a country where they did not appre- 
ciate the honour that she had conferred upon it by her 
presence. Her great delight were her visits to Darmstadt, 
where she had built for herself, in the neighbourhood of 
the town, a castle called Heiligenberg, which she left in 
her will to her brother Prince Alexander of Hesse, who 
was her great favourite, notwithstanding his unequal 
marriage with Mademoiselle von Haucke. That marriage 
nearly caused the banishment of the Prince from the 
Russian Court, so incensed was the Emperor Nicholas, not 
so much at the marriage itself, but at the circumstances 
that had attended it. Mademoiselle Julie von Haucke 
was a maid of honour to the Empress ; the Prince fell in 
love with her, and the romance was accidentally discovered 
one day during an official dinner, when the young girl 
suddenly fainted. The Prince was ordered by the Tsar to 
marry her, and both were exiled from the Court, in spite 
of the tears of the Tsarevna. 

Mademoiselle von Haucke was in her turn granted the 
title, first of Countess, and, later on, of Princess of Bat- 
tenberg, and she remained always upon good terms with 
her Imperial sister-in-law. 

The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the consort of 
Nicholas I., was most incensed at this escapade of the 
brother of her daughter-in-law, and the relations between 
the two ladies became very strained in consequence. In 
fact, they had never been very cordial, because the Empress, 
in spite of her great kindness and amiability, imposed upon 
the Tsarevna and rather crushed her. The young timid 
girl never felt at her ease before the elder lady, with her 

28 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

grand eighteenth-century manners. Even after she became 
Empress she was always nervous in presence of her mother- 
in-law, whom, nevertheless, she continually treated with 
the utmost respect. 

Alexandra Feodorovna was extremely liked among 
St. Petersburg Society, into the interests of which she 
had entered almost from the first day of her arrival in 
Russia. She knew everybody, had learned by heart the 
different family alliances and the genealogy of all the 
people who were introduced to her. Without being regu- 
larly beautiful like her mother the famous Queen Louise 
of Prussia, she had an extraordinary charm of manner 
and wonderful grace in all her movements. It is said 
that when she entered a room it was with such quiet dignity 
that everybody felt awed, but at the same time delight- 
fully impressed. She liked Society, and was always sur- 
rounded by her friends. Every evening a few people 
were invited to take tea with her and the Emperor, who 
in that way learned to know persons and to hear what 
was going on through other channels than his Ministers. 
Even after her widowhood, the Empress continued to 
receive guests in a quiet way, until her health, which had 
always been extremely delicate, forbade it. Then she 
used to get the members of her family to gather round 
her, and amuse her with their tales and stories as to what 
was going on in the world. Her favourite brother was 
Prince William of Prussia, afterwards the Emperor 
William I., and in him she used to confide whenever she 
found any difficulty in her path. The two remained close 
friends until the Empress's death, and the friendship was 
continued by Alexander II., who was always upon intimate 
terms with his Prussian uncles, and nearly always favoured 
the policy of a rapprochement with Germany. 

As I have said already, the Emperor Alexander had three 

29 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

brothers. The elder of them, the Grand Duke Constantine 
Nicolaievitch was a very remarkable man. Singularly 
clever, he had been most carefully educated, and with 
zeal that is rare among members of Royal Houses, had 
profited by this education, and developed the gifts 
which nature had showered upon him. He had strong 
Liberal leanings, and was the adviser of his brother in the 
great reforms which followed upon the emancipation of 
the serfs. It can safely be affirmed that without him 
the emancipation would not have taken place so soon. 
It was he who brought to the Sovereign's notice the men 
who were able to help him to put his generous intentions 
into operation, and supported them in spite of the violent 
opposition which they encountered. It was he who called 
into existence the different commissions over which he 
presided, and induced the Emperor to appoint to a 
responsible post in the Ministry of the Interior Nicholas 
Milioutine, the brother of the future Field-Marshal Count 
Dmitry Milioutine. To the efforts of the former, seconded 
by the famous Samarine and by Prince Tcherkassky, 
were due the principal reforms which marked the reign 
of Alexander II. 

At one time the Grand Duke was the most praised and 
the most hated man in the whole of the Empire. The Old 
Russian or Conservative party declared him to be a 
dangerous Radical, whilst the Liberals praised without 
limit the courage he showed in prompting his brother to 
lead Russia on the path of necessary reforms, and to con- 
tinue the work of Peter the Great by bringing her into line 
with other European nations. At his house could be met 
all the intelligent men in Russia, no matter whether or 
not they had an official rank. He was the first to try to 
break through that circle of bureaucracy in which the 
country was confined, the first to attempt to do away with 

30 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

the Tchin, that plague of Russia. He had the instincts 
of a statesman, though through the tendency of his 
education he did not admit that a statesman could influ- 
ence his nation against the wishes of its ruler, and held 
that it was that ruler alone who could decide as to what 
was good or bad for it. In his heart of hearts, he secretly 
envied his brother, and would fain have been in his place. 
He was, indeed, accused by his enemies of having ambitious 
designs against his lawful Sovereign ; but that was an 
absurdity, for the Grand Duke was above everything else 
a Romanoff, who only cared for the welfare of his House, 
and had its respect for its head. What he certainly would 
have liked would have been to be granted more official 
authority than was the case. 

At last, however, the governmental talents of the Grand 
Duke were put to a test. He was sent as Viceroy to 
Warsaw, when revolutionary trouble was brewing. It was 
hoped that by the introduction of Liberal reforms, and 
a kind of autonomy, under the guidance of a member 
of the Imperial House, the threatened storm would be 
averted. Constantine went to Warsaw, and with his 
beautiful wife he held a Court there ; they both tried 
to make themselves popular with all classes, going so 
far as to call a son that was born to them by the Polish 
name of Viatcheslav. Further, to give more significance 
to the mission of peace he had undertaken, he called to 
the head of his Ministry one of the rare Poles who really 
understood the needs of their country, the Marquis Vielo- 
polski. 

It was all in vain ; the insurrection broke out, Vielo- 
polski was compelled, amid execrations and curses, to 
fly from Warsaw, the Grand Duke himself was fired upon, 
and had to acknowledge that his essay of a constitutional 
government on the banks of the Vistula had failed. He 

31 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

went back to St. Petersburg, to find his influence with his 
brother singularly diminished, and himself looked upon 
as a revolutionary to whose policy was due all the horrors 
and difficulties which followed upon the unfortunate 
rebellion of 1863. His political career was ended. 

He then concentrated all his efforts upon the Navy. 
He was High Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of all the 
naval forces, but there again misfortune pursued him. 
His was a great mind, capable of great conceptions, but 
quite unable to grapple with details. His administration 
was not a success, and he carried his neglect so far that 
rumours went about that a great proportion of the secret 
funds granted to the Navy had found their way into his 
pockets. 

The war with Turkey in 1877 revealed the unsatis- 
factory condition of the Navy, but Alexander H. was still 
too fond of his brother to deprive him of his post, and 
it was only after the Emperor's assassination that the 
Grand Duke Const an tine, whose relations with his nephew 
the new Tsar were most unsatisfactory, himself resigned 
his various offices. The Grand Duke was fond of spending 
money, and was in his later years essentially un homme 
de plaisir. After having been passionately in love with 
his wife, the Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg — who 
certainly was one of the most beautiful women of her 
day — he ended by completely neglecting her ; they scarcely 
saw each other until the last illness, which prostrated the 
Grand Duke, when his consort, forgetting old grievances, 
went to nurse him in the distant Crimea, where he had 
retired. 

His eldest son, the Grand Duke Nicholas Constanti- 
novitch, was the hero of a scandal which resulted in his 
exile to Taschkent, where he remains to the present mo- 
ment, having married there the daughter of a police officer. 

3^ 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

As for the other children of the Grand Duke Con- 
stantine Nicolaievitch, one daughter is the Dowager Queen 
of Greece, who is so beloved everywhere, and whose popu- 
larity in her adopted country is as great as it is in 
her own ; the other, the Grand Duchess Wera, died a 
short time ago, the widow of Duke Eugene of Wiirtem- 
berg. The second son, Constantine Constantinovitch, is 
the cleverest man in the Imperial Family ; he has written 
several volumes of verses, and is President of the Imperial 
Academy of Sciences. His youngest brother, the Grand 
Duke Dmitri, is a keen sportsman, and one of those happy 
creatures that have no history. 

The second brother of Alexander II., the Grand Duke 
Nicholas Nicolaievitch, was a very handsome man, whose 
features closely resembled those of the Emperor Nicholas. 
But with this resemblance the likeness ended. He was 
not stupid in the strict sense of the word, but ignorant, 
self-opinionated, stubborn, and very vindictive, a trait 
he shared in common with his elder brother. There is a 
curious anecdote about him, for the authenticity of which I 
can vouch. He was once president of a commission, one 
of the members of which was a great personal friend of 
the Sovereign, a man who always had his franc parler, 
and whose opinion had often been taken into consideration 
by the stern Nicholas I. This man disliked the Grand 
Duke, and having suddenly noticed that the latter counted 
under the table upon his fingers whilst discussing certain 
credits for the Army, interrupted brusquely with the 
remark : 

" Monseigneur, qtiand on sail seulement compter sur ses 
doigts, on se tail.*' 

The scandal can be imagined. 

In spite of this deficiency in his arithmetical attainments, 
the Grand Duke was entrusted with various military cora- 
ls 33 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

mands, and was Commander-in-Chief of the Army during 
the war with Turkey. It is well known how utterly incom- 
petent he showed himself in that capacity and the disasters 
which were due to his obstinacy and want of foresight. 
Public opinion was very bitter against him for his in- 
capacity. He died only a few months before his brother, 
the Grand Duke Constantine, and his splendid palace 
was acquired by the Crown for the purposes of a college 
for young girls, which is known as the Xenia Institute, 
and which was founded by the late Emperor at the time of 
his eldest daughter's marriage. 

The Grand Duke Nicholas left two sons, both of whom 
are married to daughters of the King of Montenegro. 

The youngest brother of Alexander II., the Grand Duke 

Michael Nicolaievitch, died only quite recently, and was 

always very highly thought of and deeply respected by 

all the Imperial Family. Even his stern nephew the 

Emperor Alexander III. reverenced him, and frequently 

turned to him for advice. He had occupied for many 

years the responsible position of Viceroy of the Caucasian 

provinces, and had filled it to general satisfaction. His 

wife, the Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna, by birth a 

Princess of Bade, was one of the most cultured princesses 

in Europe, and a woman of brilliant intellect, kind heart, 

and charming manners. She was the type of the grande 

dame of past days, full of gentleness and dignity, and 

altogether an exception to the general mould after which 

princesses are fashioned. Her conversation was exceptional, 

and her powers of assimilation quite remarkable. When 

she liked she could win all hearts, even those of her enemies. 

On her return from the long absence in the Caucasus 

her house became the rendezvous of all the intellectual 

and artistic elements of St. Petersburg Society, and she 

was rather feared by the other ladies of the Imperial 











^^K '' 


w 




^^^^^H |s. ^^^^^^^^Em 


^ 


k"< ' ^H 




|yi^^\| 


BJk\^^l 


Hl^ 


i 






BROTHERS OF ALEXANDER II. 

Grand Duke Constantine Nicolaievitch Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievitch 

BROTHERS OF ALEXANDER III. 

Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

Family for her authoritative manners and domineering 
spirit. 

The Grand Duke distinguished himself during the 
Turkish War, where he won the Grand Cross of St. George 
and the baton of Field-Marshal. He was a tall man, with 
the characteristic features of the Romanoffs, a long beard, 
and altogether the look of a thorough grand seigneur. 
He kept in favour dtiring three reigns, and was extremely 
regretted when he died, especially by the Dowager Empress. 
His wife had predeceased him by a number of years ; she 
died on her way to the Crimea from the shock which she 
sustained when she heard of her second son's marriage 
with the Countess Torby. 

The grand ducal couple had a large family — six sons 
and one daughter, who is now Dowager Duchess of Mecklen- 
burg- Schwerin. 

Of the three daughters born to the Emperor Nicholas I. 
and the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the second, 
Alexandra, died a few months after marriage ; she was 
extremely beautiful, and it is said that her mother never 
recovered from the blow caused by her death. The youngest 
— ^the Grand Duchess Olga, with whom an Austrian Arch- 
duke had been in love, and whose proposed marriage 
had failed on account of religious questions— became 
Queen of Wiirtemberg, and had neither a happy nor a 
pleasant life. She also was extremely beautiful, and 
possessed of her mother's grand manner, a Sovereign every 
inch of her, with that born dignity which it is next to impos- 
sible to acquire. Her husband was her inferior in every- 
thing, and no children were born to her in whom she could 
have forgotten her other disappointments. She died after 
a lingering illness, very much regretted by those who knew 
her well, but almost a stranger to the country over which 
she had reigned. 

35 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Not less lovely, but with a very different disposition, 
was her eldest sister, the Grand Duchess Marie Nicolaievna, 
who married the son of Prince Eugene de Beauharnais 
and Princess Amelia of Bavaria. Clever, with a shade 
of intrigue, wonderfully gifted, but of a passionate, warm 
disposition, she made a very inferior marriage, from sheer 
disappointment at having missed a brilliant alliance which 
her coquetry had caused to be abandoned. Extremely 
fascinating, a fact of which she was perfectly aware, she 
was a general favourite in society, and so much beloved 
that by a kind of tacit agreement everybody united their 
efforts to hide from her stern father her numerous frailties. 
When at length the Duke of Leuchtenberg wanted 
to make a scandal and separated from his wife, the 
Emperor interfered, and granted to his daughter's 
children the title of Prince (or Princess) Romanovsky. 
She afterwards married Count Gregoire Strogonoff, but 
lacked the courage to tell the fact to the Emperor, and 
Nicholas I. died in ignorance of it. There is no doubt 
he would never have forgiven her, though the Strogonoffs 
rank among the great nobles of Russia. The imion, indeed, 
was only acknowledged by Alexander II. after a long 
struggle. The Grand Duchess bought a villa in Florence, 
and spent there a great part of the year, surrounded by 
artists and indulging in her taste for painting and sculp- 
ture. She had been elected President of the Academy of 
Arts in St. Petersburg, and her efforts were certainly 
directed towards the development of artistic activity in 
her native country. She died in Russia, whither she had 
wished to be brought back when it became evident that 
she was attacked by an incurable disease. By her first 
husband she left two daughters and four sons, one of 
whom was killed during the Turkish campaign. By her 
second marriage she had one daughter, called Helene, who 

36 



Anecdotes of the Imperial Family 

was the favourite of the present Dowager Empress ; she 
was twice married, first to a Colonel Scheremetieff, and 
secondly to an officer named Miklachevsky, and died not 
long ago. She bore an extreme likeness to her grand- 
father, the Emperor Nicholas I., and, though a very great 
lady in manner, was not a favourite in St. Petersburg 
Society, which found her haughty and stiff. 

The magnificent palace of the Grand Duchess Marie 
Nicolaievna, which had been given to her as a wedding 
present by her father when she was united to the Duke of 
Leuchtenberg, was sold to the Crown by her children after 
her death. It is at present the seat of the Council of the 
Empire, and except the walls nothing is left to remind 
one of the lovely woman who was once the mistress of it, 
nor of the festivities of which it was the scene for so many 
long years. 



37 



CHAPTER IV 

THE INFLUENCE OF THE GRAND DUCHESS HELENE 

PAVLOVNA 

Among the remarkable women whom it has been my for- 
tune to meet, the Grand Duchess Hel^ne Pavlovna certainly 
holds the first place. For a long series of years she was 
the most important member of the Russian Imperial 
family, and her influence was exercised far and wide, and 
even outbalanced that of the reigning Empress. She was 
not only a leader of society, but a serious factor in both 
foreign and home politics. It was she who gave to her 
nephew, the Emperor Alexander II., the first idea of the 
emancipation of the serfs, and more than that, it was 
she who gave him the first hint as to how this reform could 
be accomplished. Assisted by the advice of several remark- 
able men, such as Nicholas Milioutine, Prince Tcherkassky, 
and others, she gave their liberty to the peasants of her 
property of Karlovka in the Government of Poltava. This 
event sounded the first knell of the old regime, and it is 
to the everlasting honour of the Grand Duchess that it 
came to be heard through her generous initiative. 

She was no ordinary person then, this Princess, who, 
after a childhood spent at the small Court of Stuttgart, 
was suddenly introduced to all the splendours of that of 
St. Petersburg. Left a widow at a comparatively early age, 
she could not, so long as her brother-in-law the Emperor 
Nicholas reigned, aspire to a political r61e. Yet her serious 
mind was tired of the vain and empty life she was con- 

38 



Influence of the Grand Duchess Hel&ne 

demned to lead, so she contrived to make her palace the 
centre of artistic and literary Russia. Every author, 
painter or sculptor was welcomed there, and every politician 
too. It was murmured, and even related, that the report 
of the liberty which was indulged in the conversations held 
at these gatherings reached the Emperor himself, who once 
remonstrated with his sister-in-law on the subject and 
received from her the proud reply : " // vaut mieux pour 
vous, Sire, qu'on cause chez mot tout haut, plutot que de con- 
spirer chez les autres tout has J' 

Nevertheless, she was obliged to restrain herself in the 
expression of her opinions after these remarks were made 
to her, and it was not until her nephew ascended the 
throne that she began to play an open part in politics, 
and to acquire real influence in that direction. Her palace 
soon became a centre of Liberalism, as it was understood 
at the time, and it is certain that her evening parties, to 
which everyone of importance in Russia, with or without 
Court rank, was invited, were of great use to Alexander II., 
who found it convenient to meet at his aunt's house people 
whom it would have been next to impossible for him to 
see anywhere else. 

The Grand Duchess Helene, among her great qualities, 
possessed the rare one of being able to discover and appre- 
ciate people of real merit. " Elle se connait en hommes," 
was the judgment passed upon her by Bismarck, who 
also knew how to judge the merits of individuals. Her 
clear brain was unaffected by prejudice, although she appre- 
ciated the important part it plays in the judgments of the 
world. She was altogether superior to these judgments, 
even when they were passed upon herself. Thus she 
never wavered in her friendship for Nicholas Milioutine, 
who, in spite of the cruel insinuations that were made in St. 
Petersburg Society regarding that friendship — insinuations 

39 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

that the high moral character of the Princess ought to 
have preserved her from. 

Strange to say, the person who most warmly defended 
the Grand Duchess against these calumnies was the Empress 
Marie Alexandrovna herself. She did not like her aunt, 
nor sympathise with her opinions, but she had a strong 
sense of justice, and, moreover, felt that, as the first lady 
in the Empire, it was her duty to protect the second one 
from immerited disgrace. She therefore consented to meet 
Milioutine one evening, and after he had been presented 
to her she received him with kindness, and even discussed 
with him a few points concerning the emancipation of the 
serfs that was then the topic of the day, and the mere 
suggestion of which had brought such a storm about the 
heads of those who were in favour of it. It was upon that 
occasion that the Empress expressed the judgment which 
was considered so true at the time, and sounds so strange 
to-day : " // m'a toujours semble que ces grands mots de con- 
servateurs, de rouges, de revolutionnaires n'avaient pas de 
partis.*' Poor Empress ! Subsequent events were to 
afford a terrible contradiction 1 

So long as the Liberal reforms were on the tapis, the 
salon of Helene Pavlovna retained its importance. People 
used to try their utmost to be received by her, because 
they knew that it offered them the possibility of meeting 
and even speaking with the Sovereign. All the Ministers 
of Alexander II., General (afterwards Count) Milioutine, 
M. Abaza, M. Valouieff, the famous Samarine, were 
habitu6s of her evening parties. It was at her instigation 
that the question of compulsory military service was 
first mentioned to the Emperor. It was during a dinner 
which she gave to Prince Tcherkassky, before the latter's 
departure for Poland, that the reform of the Legislative 
Code was first discussed, and the introduction of the 

40 



Influence of the Grand Duchess Helfene 

juges de paix, in imitation of those of France, wais 
decided. 

Whenever a step was made in the road of progress and 
Liberalism, it was the Grand Duchess H^l^ne who was the 
first to notice it, and to show her appreciation of it. Oft times 
she carried her enthusiasm too far, and harmed instead 
of doing good to the causes which jshe had taken to heart. 

Gossip began to accuse her of intrigues, which, if the 
truth be said, were not absolutely foreign to her nature. 
She liked to make herself important, to be thought the 
principal personage in Russia, to be considered as the 
person who had the greatest influence over her nephew 
Alexander II. It was a very innocent little weakness, 
but it made her sometimes ridiculous, and certainly her 
opinions would have had greater weight had she not talked 
so much, and especially restrained her friends from talking 
so much, about her influence and her importance. She 
aspired to the position of a Richelieu, and did not realise 
that it was rather as that of his councillor, the famous 
P^re Joseph, she could have attained more easily her goal, 
which was that of governing and reforming Holy Russia. 

With all this, however, she exercised a great influence 
on St. Petersburg Society ; she was a really great lady, a 
princess of the old style, pure and proud, who looked upon 
the world from an ivory chair, who never allowed herself 
any meanness, any petty vengeance, or forgetfulness of the 
position she filled in the world. She was an incomparable 
hostess, though her evening parties were thought dull by 
those whose powers of conversation were limited, or who 
cared only for small talk. No one knew better than she 
how to receive her guests or to put them at their ease, and 
though slander or gossip were excluded from her conversa- 
tion, yet she sometimes unbent, and would relate with 
much spirit anecdotes concerning her arrival in Russia, 

41 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and the first years of her married life. This reminds me 
of one occasion when she told us the following amusing 
story of the Emperor Nicholas's sternness in all questions 
of military service. It was so funnily related that I entered 
it in my diary as soon as I got home, and I will repeat it 
now, as I heard it from her lips on that day. The con- 
versation had centred by accident on the Emperor, and 
someone said that he had been capable of very cruel things. 
The Grand Duchess instantly protested with energy. 

" The Emperor was not cruel,'* she said ; "he punished 
when it was necessary, but I never remember his punishing 
anyone unjustly, or having done any really cruel act. He 
was, with all his severity, the kindest of men. The only 
time that I have heard of his having been cruel was on 
one occasion "—and she smiled at the remembrance of 
what she was going to relate—" and that was as follows : 
The Emperor very often used to drive out quite alone 
through the streets of St. Petersburg to see what was going 
on. At that time there was a guard-house close to the 
Alexander Nevski Convent. Now it was the custom when 
the Emperor — and for the matter of that any member of 
the Imperial Family — ^happened to pass there, for the guard 
to come out and present arms, and if the officer in com- 
mand had been obliged for some reason or other to 
remain indoors, the senior non-commissioned officer came 
out in his place. Now on that particular occasion the 

officer on guard happened to be a certain Captain K , 

who, thinking that no one would ever hear about it, had 
simply undressed and gone to bed, leaving his subordinate 
to see to things during the night. The Emperor had slept 
badly, and went out at the early hour of six o'clock. When 
he passed the guard-house and saw that the officer did 
not come out, he had his carriage stopped, and inquired 
where the officer was. Upon receiving the reply that he 

42 



Influence of the Grand Duchess H6lene 

was indoors, the Emperor went in. The first sight that 

met his eyes was Captain K , sleeping upon the camp 

bed which was reserved for the officer in case of need, and 
completely undressed. The Sovereign shook him by the 
arm. One can fancy the feelings of the unfortunate man 
when he saw who it was that was awakening him. ' Get 
up,' said the Emperor, * and follow me. No ; don't dress 
yourself — come as you are.' And he dragged him as he 
was, without even the most indispensable garment on, and 
ordered him to sit beside him in his carriage. Thus, com- 
pletely undressed, he brought him back to the Winter 
Palace, whence he ordered him to be sent, still un- 
dressed, to the Caucasus, where he was degraded to the 
rank of a common soldier. That was the only cruel deed 
I knew the late Emperor to do," added the Grand Duchess, 

" and then he very soon pardoned Captain K and 

restored him to his favour. It is certain that the captain 
would in time have made a career, in spite of this unfortunate 
incident, had he not been killed during the Hungarian 
campaign." 

I repeat this story to afford some idea of the conversa- 
tion at these celebrated evening parties at the Palais 
Michel, as the home of the Grand Duchess Heldne was 
called, and to show that, with all her reputation of a blue- 
stocking, she was not above repeating a funny anecdote to 
amuse her guests. It is therefore a mistake to say that 
her conversation was pedantic, and that outside of politics 
nothing ever amused her. She could laugh, in spite of 
her stiffness, which was more apparent than real, and 
her ceremonious manners proceeded rather from her educa- 
tion than from the haughtiness with which she was credited. 

After the Polish mutiny of 1863, the importance of the 
Grand Duchess H^l^ne decreased. A certain reaction had 
already set in, after the enthusiasm which had accompanied 

43 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the manifesto of February 19th, 1861, granting liberty 
to the serfs, and the old Conservative party had succeeded 
in proving to the Emperor that he had underestimated 
the difficulties of the reform, especially in its connection 
with the agrarian question. At the same time the dis- 
appointment which attended the essay in constitutional 
government in Poland by the Grand Duke Constantine 
was causing acute irritation. It had been whispered at 
these weekly gatherings at the Palais Michel that if the 
Emperor's brother succeeded in Warsaw something of the 
same kind might be tried in St. Petersburg, and a respon- 
sible Cabinet instituted on the lines of those of Western 
Europe. The attempt having failed, its discredit fell on 
the promoters of it, primarily on the Grand Duke and his 
aunt, whose advice he had been credited with following. 
Several councillors of the Emperor, like old Count Panine, 
represented to him that too much latitude had been allowed 
the Grand Duchess Helene, and that she ought to be 
reminded that in Russia it was not allowed to discuss the 
actions of the Sovereign, and still less to disapprove of 
them. After this a certain coolness existed between aunt 
and nephew, and the journeys abroad of the Grand Duchess 
became longer and more frequent ; but when she was in 
St. Petersburg she did not change her habits, and con- 
tinued to receive her friends, to give her parties, and to 
express her opinions. Gradually, however, the tone of 
her salon changed, and artistic matters were more to the 
front than had been the case before. She also gave her 
attention to charitable and scientific institutions, and the 
hospital of experimental medicine which bears her name 
testifies to the present day of the interest with which she 
followed the progress of medical science. She died at a 
relatively advanced age, in the beginning of the year 1873. 
Her daughter, the Grand Duchess Catherine, tried to 

44 



Influence of the Grand Duchess Hdlfenc 

follow in the footsteps of her mother, but though kind- 
hearted, she had not the brilliancy of the Grand Duchess 
Helene, and so did not succeed in replacing her. Her 
dinners and parties, even when the same people attended 
them, lacked the animation, and especially the ease, which 
had distinguished the former gatherings at the Palais Michel, 

The Grand Duchess Helene had as friend and helper 
her lady-in-waiting, the Baroness Editha Rhaden. Just as 
remarkable a person in her way as her august mistress, 
she was the life of the Palais Michel. Extremely clever, 
and still more learned, she made it her business to read 
everything that was worth reading, to know everybody 
worth knowing, and to study every question worth study- 
ing. She was also the channel through which news of 
the outside world and the opinions of the various political 
circles of the capital used to reach the Grand Duchess. 
She attended to her correspondence, and often replied to 
the letters which the latter received or transmitted her 
orders to those who looked to the aunt of the Sovereign 
for direction in matters of State. A curious note sent to 
Nicholas Milioutine testifies how thoroughly the Baroness 
Rhaden was identified with the aspirations of the party 
which had put its hopes under the patronage of the Grand 
Duchess Helene. It was written in the month of October, 
i860, just at the time when the commission which was 
elaborating the project of the emancipation of the serfs 
was bringing its work to a close, and when unexpected 
difiiculties had suddenly cropped up. I give it here in its 
original French, together with a translation : — 

" Je suis char gee de vous annoncer une bonne nouvelle, 
secrete encore, c^est que le grand due Constantin est nomme 
president du grand comite, et qu'd son retour VEmpereur prS^ 
sidera lui-meme. Avais-je raison ce matin de croire d une 
Providence spSciale pour la Russie, et pour nous tous ? " 

45 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

(I have been asked to give you some good news, which 
is as yet secret, and that is that the Grand Duke Con- 
stantine has been appointed President of the Grand Com- 
mittee, and that after his return here the Emperor will 
himself preside. Was I not right this morning in thinking 
that there existed a special Providence for Russia, and 
for us all ? ) 

Editha Rhaden was a charming person, rather given, 
perhaps, to exuberant enthusiasm, which prevented her 
from appreciating the real worth of things as well as of 
people, but with real intelligence, sound principles, and 
brilliant conversational powers. She was perhaps slightly 
poseuse and rather given to exaggerate both her own and 
her Imperial mistress's importance. A great stickler for 
etiquette, she contrived to give a ceremonious appearance 
to the smallest gathering, and she was famed for the 
magnificence of her curtse5rs whenever a crowned head 
came into a room. She lived only within the atmosphere 
of a Court, and when absent from it seemed lost and 
utterly out of her element ; but she was thoroughly genuine, 
incapable of a mean act, and very much liked even by 
those who smiled at her innocent foibles. After the death 
of the Grand Duchess Helene, whom she did not survive 
very long, she continued to receive those who had been 
habitues of the Palais Michel, and held a small Court of 
her own, whose importance she overvalued. When she died 
she was generally regretted, for she had tried to do all the 
good she possibly could, and no one could reproach her 
with a bad action or a bad use of the influence which at 
one time she unquestionably possessed. 

Another important member of the Imperial Family was 
Prince Peter of Oldenburg, the cousin of the Emperor. 
His entire existence was given up to deeds of charity, or 
to questions of education. He was the founder of a school 

46 



Influence of the Grand Duchess Helene 

which has given to Russia some of its most distinguished 
citizens, and which to this day is considered to be one 
of the best in the Empire. The Mary Magdalen Hospital 
was also due to his initiative. He was almost venerated 
by all classes of society, and when he died even the cab> 
drivers of St. Petersburg were heard to mourn him as one 
of their best friends. His son, Prince Alexander, married 
the Princess Eugenie of Leuchtenberg, the daughter of 
the Grand Duchess Marie Nicolaievna by her first husband, 
the son of Eugene de Beauhamais, of Napoleonic fame. 
He is also a very distinguished man. 



47 



CHAPTER V 

THE REFORMS OF ALEXANDER II. AND HIS MINISTERS 

When Alexander II. ascended the Throne, it was known — 
and, what is more, it was felt- — that by the force of circum- 
stances alone his reign was bound to be one of serious 
reforms. It was known also both at home and abroad 
that these reforms would be strenuously opposed by 
all his father's friends, Ministers, and advisers. People 
wondered whether the young Sovereign would prove to 
have sufficient energy to change an order of things which 
it was to the interests of many old servants of the Imperial 
regime to retain as they were. Public opinion, however, 
was soon enlightened as to the intentions of the Emperor, 
because when he received deputations of the nobility, on 
the occasion of his Coronation, he publicly declared to them 
his intention to grant liberation to the serfs. His announce- 
ment caused a great sensation, but as time went on and 
the great reform, though discussed everywhere, was delayed, 
it was thought that the Government and Alexander him- 
self feared the consequences of such a revolutionary meas- 
ure. The problems which it raised were of the most serious 
character and threatened to shake the very foundations 
of the empire. The matter was especially complicated in 
its agrarian aspect, for the very right of property, as it 
had hitherto been understood in Russia, was jeopardised. 
One cannot wonder, therefore, that even a Liberal monarch 
hesitated before making the fateful stroke of his pen that 
would irrevocably settle the matter. 

48 



The Reforms of Alexander 11. 

As is usual in Russia, a committee was appointed to 
study the question, and, thanks to the efforts of Prince 
Gortschakov, who was one of his strongest supporters, 
Nicholas Milioutine was appointed, under General Lanskoi, 
to bring into order the different propositions submitted 
to the committee ; he was to endeavour to evolve a scheme 
that would be acceptable both to the enthusiastic sup- 
porters and the indignant opponents of the reform, the 
principle of which, nevertheless, the latter felt could not 
be avoided any longer. 

It is not within the limits of this book to deal with the 
individuality of Milioutine, nor of the influence exercised 
by him during the eventful years which followed the 
accession of Alexander II. to the Throne. He was a most 
remarkable man, both as regards intellect and character, 
but he was one of the most disliked personages in Russia. 
By a strange stroke of destiny, after having borne the 
reputation of being an extreme Radical, and being under 
suspicion of the Emperor himself, who for a long time 
refused to employ him, Milioutine, thanks to the protection 
of the Grand Duchess Helene and of Prince Gortschakov, 
found himself called to collaborate with the Sovereign 
in the most important act of his reign. Later on, as 
soon as the reform over which they had both worked had 
become an accomplished fact, Milioutine fell once more 
under his Sovereign's displeasure and was rudely dismissed 
before he had been able to show what he could do towards 
regulating the machine which he had set in motion. 

The dismissal of Milioutine was typical of Alexander II. 
and of the indecision which was one of the defects in his 
character. He never had the patience nor the necessary 
endurance to wait for the natural development of events 
and for the consequences of his actions ; he considered 
that they were bound to be successful, simply because he 
E 49 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

wished them to be so. His was a nature that expected 
praise and gratitude not only from individuals but from 
nations. He had nursed big dreams of glory, and would 
have been perfectly happy had the enthusiasm with which 
he was greeted by his subjects on that eventful day of 
February 19th, 1861, lasted for ever. That it did not 
do so made him angry, all forgetful of the fact that the 
brightest day is sometimes followed by the blackest night. 

Alexander, indeed, had a great deal of childishness in his 
character. As a child breaks his plajrthings, so he would 
treat people who had ceased to please him ; and this fatal 
trait of character, which so often made him withdraw to-day 
what he had given yesterday, was one of the many causes 
that shattered the popularity which at one time seemed 
so deep and lasting. 

No one who was in St. Petersburg at the time of the 
emancipation of the serfs will ever forget the morning of 
that great day in February, 1861. The excitement in the 
capital was intense. Up to the last moment people had 
doubted whether the Sovereign would have the courage 
to put his name to the measure. Even the most Liberal 
among the upper classes, those who for a long time had 
wished for the day when slavery would be abolished, were 
fearful of the manner of its accomplishment. It must 
not be supposed that the old Russian nobility were entirely 
against the emancipation. What they objected to was 
the lines upon which the Emperor wanted it to be brought 
about, and the forced expropriation of what belonged to 
the landlords in order to give it to the peasants. Those 
who knew these peasants well felt how very dangerous 
it was to imbue these ignorant people with the idea that 
the Sovereign could take from his nobles lands to give to 
the peasants. Events have proved that these adversaries 
of the great reform were right ; it was this fatal mistake 

50 



The Reforms of Alexander 11. 

that spoiled the great work which, conducted differently, 
would have immortalised Alexander II. not only as a 
humane, but also as a wise Sovereign. 

All this was discussed on the eve of that February 19th, 
and everybody knew that frantic efforts were being made 
on both sides to delay or to hasten the important decision. 
It was said that some of the promoters of the projected 
reform, in order to break down the last hesitations of 
the Sovereign, had tried to frighten him with the threat 
of an insurrection of the masses if it was not promulgated. 
A curious note from the Grand Duchess Hel^ne to Miliou- 
tine shows us the apprehensions felt in high quarters as 
to what might follow a deception of the hopes raised among 
the peasant class. 

" I think it right to warn you that my servants have 
told me that if there was nothing for the 19th, the tchern 
(populace) would come before the Palace and ask for a 
solution. I think one ought to pay some attention to 
that piece of gossip, because at the present moment a 
demonstration would be fatal for our hopes." 

As a matter of fact, no demonstration was ever planned, 
or could have taken place in view of the precautions taken 
by the police ; but this apprehension of the Grand Duchess 
was typical of the nervous excitement among the upper 
classes at the time. 

The Emperor, however, had made up his mind, though 
it seems that at the Very last moment some kind of fear 
had taken hold of him. On February i8th, the anniver- 
sary of his father's death, he had driven to the fortress 
and for a long time prayed at his father's tomb. Did 
he remember then the words spoken by the dying Nicholas 
when, with that sense of prophecy given to people at their 
last hour, he had told his son that if he brought about all 
the Liberal measures of which he was dreaming he would 

SI 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

not die in his bed ? On his return to the Winter Palace, 
however, Alexander II. seemed unusually grave and silent. 

Whether he slept or not no one knows, and the next 
morning was brought to him the famous manifesto com- 
posed by the Metropolitan of Moscow, the venerable Philaret, 
which began with the words, " Make the sign of the Cross, 
thou Russian people." When Count Lanskoi, then Minister 
of the Interior, handed the momentous document to the 
Emperor, he took it from him with hands that trembled 
in spite of his efforts to remain calm, and asked to be left 
alone for a few moments. 

What passed in his mind during those minutes ? Did 
he see, as in a dream, the past and his father's wishes and 
his father's hopes, and the future with its hideous end, 
the day when, maimed and bleeding, he would be brought 
back to that same room to die, struck by one of those 
whom his hand was going to free ? He never told any- 
one the struggles of his soul on that day, and when he 
recalled Lanskoi there was no sign of emotion on his face. 
He signed the manifesto with a firm hand, and it was at 
once made public. 

A few hours later Alexander II. left the Winter Palace 
in a victoria, alone and without escort. The square in 
front of the old building was crowded with people, and 
when the Sovereign appeared, such a cry of greeting arose 
as Russia had never heard until that day. The enthusiasm 
cannot be described, people surrounded the Imperial car- 
riage and pressed round their liberator, women sobbed 
and children wept, and even among the onlookers emotion 
was intense. Many had come there attracted by mere 
curiosity to witness the scene, many who deplored the 
occasion that had given rise to it, and even they were 
seized with the general emotion. One lady alone kept 
cool. It was the old Countess Koutaissow^ whose sister 

52 



The Reforms of Alexander H. 

had been the mistress of Paul I., who was the representative 
of the old Conservative element in St. Petersburg society, 
and bitterly opposed to the reforms of the new reign. 
When asked whether she had not felt affected by the general 
enthusiasm she replied, quietly: "No; I only rejoiced 
that I am too old to see the masses that have just been 
emancipated rise against their Sovereign and his successors, 
and I mourned the fate of my children who will see the 
consequences of to-day's folly." 

None of the reforms which marked the reign of 
Alexander II. was completed, but it is certain that, not- 
withstanding their faults, they signalled the dawn of a 
new era in which it was no longer possible to step back; 
but they brought neither peace to the country nor glory 
to the Sovereign, who had believed, in his ignorance of 
men and things, that they would ensure him a place among 
the rulers of his countr}^ next to that of the Great Peter. 
But Peter had a will of his own, and Alexander II. had 
merely fancies. 

It cannot be denied, however, that at the beginning 
of his reign he was surrounded by clever men and by 
gentlemen, which is more than can be said of his tw^o suc- 
cessors. La noblesse, to use the old French word, had still 
something to say, and it is doubtful whether Alexander 
would have accomplished what he did had he not been 
helped by a section of that much maligned class of society. 

Foremost among his Ministers was the brother of 
Milioutine, to whose efforts the emancipation of the serfs 
owed so much, General Dmitry Alexieievitch Milioutine, 
who for more than twenty years held the portfolio of War 
Minister. To his efforts was due the reorganisation of the 
Army, as well as the introduction of compulsory military 
service, another of the m^easures that raised a storm of 
indignation throughout the whole country. Milioutine was 

63 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

perhaps the most remarkable personality in the group of 
men who thought to immortalise themselves together with 
the Sovereign whom they served. He was a small, quiet 
individual, with sad, grey eyes, and with an iron will 
beneath his frail appearance. He was the only one among 
Alexander II. 's advisers that came to power with a definite 
plan, from which, in all justice it must be said, he was 
never known to swerve aside. He had at heart the welfare 
not only of his country but also of the soldier whose fate 
lay in his hands. He tried to ameliorate that fate, and 
to him must be ascribed the abolition of corporal punish- 
ment in the Army and a whole list of measures which had 
for their purpose the training and education of the soldier. 
Military schools were one of his principal cares ; he wanted 
to establish a regular system of training not only for officers, 
but for the non-commissioned officers, who in his opinion 
were the pillars of a proper organisation of the Army. He 
was an indefatigable worker, who entered into every 
detail, and who never neglected the most insignificant 
points. Had he been ably seconded, there is no doubt 
that the beginnings of the war of 1877 would not have 
been so disastrous as they were, but the Grand Duke 
Nicholas was his enemy, and did all that he could to counter- 
act the measures adopted by the Minister, who often had 
to do, in obedience to the Emperor's personal orders, what 
he secretly disapproved. 

Milioutine was not liked. All the old generals who had 
fought during the previous reign reproached him for what 
they called his " revolutionary ideas," and the younger 
generation, who through his reforms found itself burthened 
with new and unpleasant duties, was vigorously opposed 
to him. The old warrior, however, paid no attention to 
the outcry raised, and allowed the personal attacks of 
which he was made the subject to pass unnoticed. He 

54 



The Reforms of Alexander II. 

never tried to revenge himself on his foes ; never made 
use of the power which he wielded to harm anyone, and 
always listened to criticism, being of opinion that one can 
always learn something from it. He was hated by the 
Heir to the Throne, and when Alexander HI. succeeded 
his father in the tragic circumstances which everybody 
knows, it was felt that Milioutine's days as Minister were 
numbered. He knew it himself, and had the situation 
been less grave he would at once have offered his resigna- 
tion. A few short months, however, saw it become an 
accomplished fact, when the Liberal Cabinet, headed by 
Count Loris Melikoff, of which he was a member, had to 
retire before the autocratic programme which M. Pobedo- 
nostseft had induced the young Emperor to adopt. 

Milioutine never returned to St. Petersburg after that 
day. He retired to the Crimea, where he possessed a villa, 
and never more turned his attention towards public affairs, 
preserving a dignified silence both as to his wrongs and to 
his political activity in the past. The present Sovereign 
made him a Count, and later on conferred upon him the 
dignity of Field-Marshal, When the Count was in the 
Crimea, Nicholas 11. never forgot to visit the old veteran, 
living so quietly amongst his roses and the many flowers 
of his garden. There he died at the beginning of 191 2, 
two days after his wife, at the advanced age of ninety-four, 
having kept unimpaired to the last his brilliant qualities 
and his remarkable intelligence. Few statesmen have 
had the dignity of Count Milioutine ; few have known 
better how to behave when in power, and to live when 
out of it. 

Of a different type from the General was Count Panine, 
who at the time of the emancipation of the serfs held the 
portfolio of Justice. He was a grand seigneur in the fullest 
sense of the term, un homme d'autrefois immutable in his 

55 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

principles, and who, when he saw he could no longer please 
his Sovereign, retired rather, as he himself said, " than 
bow his grey head before the idol of progress/' Panine 
was the embodiment of that type of Russian functionary 
that will not admit a change of regime, and that look upon 
every reform as a danger. He was thoroughly retro- 
gressive in all his opinions, and Liberalism or Liberty 
meant for him merely Revolution. He firmly believed 
that every concession made to the spirit of modern times 
was a danger to the Throne, and he was perhaps the only 
man who had the courage to tell Alexander IL so, and 
to retire from power rather than lend his hand to what 
he considered to be the degradation of that system of 
autocracy which he had defended during the whole of 
his long life. 

By a strange freak of destiny, and one of those contrasts 
one only meets with in Russia, his only son was one of 
the first to adopt the new ideas of Liberalism. Together 
with some of his University comrades, he was arrested 
in 1861 under an accusation of Nihilism. Released on 
account of his father's services, Vladimir Panine married a 
charming woman, Mademoiselle Maltseff, and imbued her 
with his own revolutionary opinions. When he died quite 
young, leaving an only daughter, who found herself the sole 
heiress of the enormous fortune of the old Count Panine, 
the widow of the latter implored the Emperor to take the 
child away from her mother and to have her confided to 
her own care. In spite of the tears of the young Countess 
Panine, her daughter was taken forcibly away from her 
and placed in the institute for girls at Smolna, whence she 
was allowed to go out only to visit her grandmother. 
The relatives of the heiress tried to instil into her entirely 
different ideas from those of her father and mother. When 
out of sheer isolation the Countess Vladimir Panine married 

56 



The Reforms of Alexander 11. 

a young doctor named Petrounkevitch, whose Liberal 
opinions were in accordance with her own, everything 
possible was done to compromise both, and to effect thus 
the complete separation of little Sophie Panine from her 
mother. The latter, with her second husband, was for- 
bidden to visit the capital, and they settled in Odessa. 
Meanwhile the heiress grew up, and, as so often happens 
in such cases, retained in the depths of her heart a perfect 
adoration for her mother and a thorough dislike for her 
father's sisters, who were among those who had tried 
most to isolate her from everything that was not in accord- 
ance with the principles in which they wanted her to be 
brought up. At length the child who had been the object 
of all this strife was married at seventeen to a very rich 
man, not, perhaps, her equal by birth, but whose financial 
position put him above the suspicion of having wanted 
her for her money. After a few years the couple were 
divorced, and the Countess Sophie Panine, by special 
permission of the Emperor, was allowed to resume her 
maiden name. She still lives in St. Petersburg, entirely 
devoted to good works ; the revenues of her immense 
fortune are consecrated to the relief of poor students and 
to the building of cheap kitchens and night refuges. During 
the troubled times of 1905 it was rumoured that the 
Countess Sophie Panine vv^as seriously compromised ; and 
it was even said that she had been arrested. This proved 
to be incorrect, but it is evident that, in spite of the efforts 
made to imbue her with strict Conservative principles, 
the granddaughter of the most autocratic Minister of 
Alexander II. is in open sympathy with the very ideas 
against which he fought during the whole of his long life. 
Prince Lieven and M. Valouieff were also remark- 
able personalities of the time of which I am writing. The 
former fell into terrible disgrace under Alexander III., and 

57 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

was ordered to leave St. Petersburg. This event caused a 
great scandal at the time, for the Prince and Princess 
were both prominent in society. For the Princess the blow 
was a terrible one, and she did not scruple openly to attack 
the new Sovereign until it was made evident to her that 
she had better refrain. 

M. — afterwards Count — Valouiefi and M. Abaza had a 
better fate. The first of these gentlemen, who for a long 
time had held the portfolio of Home Affairs, exchanged it 
for that of the Imperial Domains, and though he lost his 
influence he retained his position. He had the common 
sense not to try to go against the tide, and to give up of 
his own accord the power which otherwise v/ould have 
been snatched from him. He was a pleasant, quiet man, 
and generally liked. 

M. Abaza for some time was a very considerable person- 
age in St. Petersburg society. He was one of the intimate 
friends of the Grand Duchess Hel^ne and of Baroness 
Editha Rhaden, and it was their influence that brought 
him before the notice of Alexander II. He was supposed 
to be a great authority on all financial matters, and twice 
had the portfolio of that department entrusted to his care. 
He was one of those who had submitted to the influence 
of the Princess Dolgorouky ; and when she became the 
Sovereign's morganatic wife and received the title of 
Princess Yourievsky, Abaza tried to induce her to persuade 
the Emperor of the necessity of granting a Constitution 
to the nation. Ryssakoff's bomb put an end to those 
dreams in the most shocking and unexpected manner. 
With the death of Alexander II. the duties of his Ministers 
came to an end. His successor never forgave M. Abaza, 
not only his Liberal principles, but also his friendship with 
the Princess Yourievsky ; and though he continued to 
be a member of the Council of State, and presided over 

58 



The Reforms of Alexander 11. 

many commissions, though he was granted orders and 
dignities, and even often consulted in grave matters of 
State, yet the political career of M. Abaza was practically 
ended on that eventful March ist, 1881. When he died, 
many years later, leaving an enormous fortune, the event 
was noticed by only the usual obituary in the newspapers, 
and a remark made by Alexander III., who, having been 
told that the Princess Ouroussoff, daughter and heiress 
of the deceased statesman, inherited seven millions, said, 
** Only that ! I thought he had stolen much more 1 " 



59 



CHAPTER VI 

THE ADLERBERGS AND THE SCHOUVALOFFS 

The two most prominent families during the reign of 
Alexander II. were those of Count Adlerberg and Count 
Schouvaloff. The former, of German origin, did not 
boast of many ancestors, but had for two generations 
enjoyed the confidence of their Sovereigns. Old Count 
Vladimir Adlerberg, who received the title from Nicholas 
I., was not only Minister of the Imperial Household, but 
a personal friend of that monarch. His son Alexander 
was educated with the Emperor's sons, and in his turn was 
entrusted with the same post as his father had occupied, 
after the latter's death. No one could have filled that 
delicate position with more tact, more intelligence, and 
more kindness than he did. Admirably educated, he 
possessed a perfect knowledge of the French and German 
languages, and it was he who generally had the task of 
composing the letters which Alexander II. had occasion 
to address to other Sovereigns on important political 
matters. It was said that Count Alexander Adlerberg 
knew more secrets, both State and private, than any other 
man in Russia, and his discretion was beyond all praise. 
No lips were ever more securely sealed than his, and no 
man ever had his talent to forget what he had heard or 
seen. For the whole quarter of a century that the reign 
of Alexander II. lasted, that friend of his youth never 
left him ; and although during the last months of the 
Emperor's life their relations became strained through 

60 



The Adlerbergs and Schouvaloffs 

the influence of the Princess Yourievsky, yet the Emperor 
would not dispense with the Count's services, so well did 
he appreciate the fact that nowhere would he find such 
a devoted and true friend. How devoted, the world 
perhaps did not guess. It could not have imagined that 
an occasion would arise when Count Adlerberg, who 
was supposed to have acquired his great position owing 
to flattery, would through his affection for his Sovereign 
risk his position in telling him the truth in a matter most 
near to his heart. Yet so it befell. When, after the 
death of the Empress Marie Alexandrovna, Alexander 
decided to unite himself in marriage to his mistress the 
Princess Dolgorouky, he asked Count Adlerberg to be 
present at the ceremony. The old statesman refused, 
and earnestly begged Alexander II. to abandon the idea. 
The Emperor was greatly incensed, and for a time it 
was thought that the Minister's position was shaken. He 
was urged by the entourage of the Tsar to give way, and 
as he could prevent nothing, at least to acquiesce to what 
was about to become an accomplished fact ; but he re- 
mained firm in his resolution, declaring that his duty as 
Minister of the Imperial Household made it imperative 
for him to maintain the dignity of the Crown, and that he 
believed this was going to be compromised by the step 
which the Emperor was about to take. 

Alexander II. was very vindictive, as all know, yet 
whatever he might have thought, he did not, save by a 
certain new reserve of manner, express his displeasure at 
Adler berg's conduct. Perhaps even the reasons which 
the latter had given to him against the marriage had some 
weight, for when his valet asked him what uniform he 
wanted to wear for the ceremony, he told him to put out 
plain evening clothes, which he never wore save when he 

was abroad, adding that as his marriage was a private 

6j 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

aflair, he wanted to give it a private appearance. This 
incident was very differently commented upon at the 
time, and some saw in it a desire to reassure Count Adler- 
berg as to the intentions of the Sovereign and his deter- 
mination not to put the Crown of the Romanoffs on the 
head of the woman for whom he had so deeply offended his 
first wife and all her children. But the shrewd Minister 
well knew that such a resolution, if really taken, would 
not be kept, and, as a matter of fact, it was only the inter- 
vention of death that prevented the justification of his 
opinion. 

Count Adlerberg had married a lady of considerable 
culture, and one who never used her great position except 
to do good. She was by birth a Mademoiselle Poltawt- 
soff; the sister of Madame Skobeleff, the mother of the 
famous general. Countess Adlerberg at one time kept 
open house, and her parties were quite a feature of the 
St. Petersburg winter season. She was a great lover of 
music, and generally all the famous singers that visited 
the northern capital were to be heard at her Tuesday 
receptions. These were brilliant and animated, attended by 
all the wealth, beauty and fashion of the city. Invita- 
tions to them were eagerly sought, and as eagerly accepted. 
The hostess had for everybody a pleasant smile and 
word, and no one could have believed that the day would 
come when the very people who crowded her lofty rooms 
would desert them and would forget the many kindnesses 
which they had accepted at those receptions. 

So it was, however, for Count Adlerberg's preferment 
lasted only as long as Alexander II. lived. His successor 
had always hated the Minister of the Imperial Household 
with a bitter hatred. Well informed people ascribed it to 
an incident in the life of the Grand Duke, in which the 
young Princess Mestchersky had played a part. This 

62 



The Adlerbergs and Schouvaloffs 

lady — ^who was maid of honour to the Empress — ^had in- 
spired a violent passion in the Grand Duke, who at the 
time had no prospect of ever ascending the Throne, and 
he proposed to marry her. The death of his brother, 
however, with the change in his position that it entailed, 
put an end to all these plans. Count Adlerberg was the 
first one to represent to the Emperor the necessity for 
his eventual successor to make a match in conformity 
with his rank, and strongly urged the accomplishment of 
the last desire of the dead Tsarevitch, to see his brother 
united to the Princess Dagmar of Denmark, whom he 
had been about to marry himself when his illness inter- 
vened and made havoc of all his plans. The Count did 
more. He induced a very rich man, well known in society, 
M. Paul Demidofi, to marry the Princess Mestchersky, 
to whom he also explained the necessity for sacrificing 
herself for the welfare of Russia and of the Imperial 
Family. The young lady understood, and in spite of the 
entreaties of the Grand Duke Alexander, allowed herself 
to be united to Demidoff. She died in child-birth the 
next year, and the Heir to the Throne consented at length 
to be married to the Princess Dagmar, whom later on he 
was to love so tenderly ; but he never forgave Count 
Adlerberg his intervention at the time, and his first care 
when he became Emperor was to dismiss the old servant 
of his father and grandfather. Moreover, he did this 
with the utmost brutality. 

It was quite unnecessary to send a messenger order- 
ing the Count to return at once all the documents of State 
which he had in his possession ; or, worse insult still, 
to appoint a Commission to inquire into the financial 
state of the Privy Purse of the late Emperor, which the 
Count had administered. Those who advised Alexander 
III. to this course were only covered with confusion, for 

63 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

affairs were found to be in perfect order ; indeed, the 
late Minister of the Imperial Household had effected 
economies amounting to 380 millions of roubles. But the 
news that such an inquiry was about to take place was 
sufficient excuse for all those who had spent their lives 
in the Adlerbergs* house to turn their backs upon them 
and never again to visit them. The Count, who knew 
human nature better than most men, was not affected by 
this change, and no one could have borne himself with 
^ greater dignity. 

He lived six years or so after leaving the political 
arena, yet he was never heard to utter one single word 
of complaint as to the treatment which he had received. 
When he died his body was barely cold when a legal func- 
tionary from the Emperor arrived to seal up all the 
papers of the former Minister, and his widow was hardly 
given the necessary time to remove herself from the house 
where she had lived since her marriage. Under a clause 
in the will of Alexander H., the Count had been given 
the right to use the house during his lifetime, and people 
were of opinion that this right might have been continued 
to his widow. It is certain that Alexander III. was neither 
just nor generous in his treatment of one of the foremost 
among the statesmen of his father's reign, and of one 
whose devotion to his Imperial master had never been 
questioned. 

The Countess Adlerberg resented the treatment bit- 
terly, and allowed herself to make remarks about the 
ingratitude of Sovereigns in general, and of Alexander III. 
in particular. She tried to gather around her all the 
elements of opposition to the new regime, but this 
did not succeed. She was aunt to General Skobeleff 
and to the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, who was a great 
favourite with the new Empress, and she thought that 

64 



The Adlerbergs and Schouvaloffs 

these alliances would give her back some of the import- 
ance she had lost. When the " White General " was re- 
called to St. Petersburg after his Paris speech, the Countess 
went to meet him at the station with an immense bouquet 
of flowers, and thereby made herself ridiculous, and added 
to the resentment which was cherished against her in 
Court circles. It was her last public manifestation. Very 
soon after that her nephew died suddenly in Moscow, and 
after Skobeleff's disappearance the name of the Countess 
Adlerberg disappeared also from the public ken. She was 
one of the Dames a Portrait of the Empress, and took her 
place at Court when it was necessary, but she soon left 
off doing even that, and at last settled in Tsarskoye Selo^. 
near St. Petersburg, where she died in 1910, utterly for- 
gotten by the world over which she had queened it for 
so long. 

The Schouvaloffs also played an important part, and 
had considerable influence, during the reign of Alexander 
II. — ^influence which, in the case of Count Paul at least ,. 
continued under his successor. They were nobles belong- 
ing to the proudest in Russia, who had always ranked 
among favourites of the Sovereign. In the latter part of 
last century this old family was represented by two 
brothers, Count Paul and Count Peter Schouvaloff, wha 
were among the most influential personages of the Empire. 
Count Paul married, in his early youth, a Princess Belos-- 
selsky, the sister of the celebrated Princess Lison Trou- 
betzkoy — so well known in Paris during the first years of 
the Third Republic, when she passed for being the 
" Egeria " of M. Thiers. He followed a military career, 
and was in command of the Corps de la Garde when the 
Turkish War broke out. Against the wish of the Em- 
peror, who would have liked him to stay in St. Petersburg, 

where his corps remained. Count Paul volunteered for a 
F 65 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

command at the front, where soon he obtained immense 
popularity and won great distinction. He was an ex- 
tremely pleasant and cultured person, a man of the world, 
full of tact, and gifted with singular diplomatic instincts. 

When relations between Russia and Germany became 
strained after the Berlin Congress, and the two Ambassa- 
dors who had been sent there, M. d'Oubril and M. 
Sabouroff, had failed to improve them, Prince Orloff 
was asked to leave Paris in order to try to mend matters. 
He was well known to Prince Bismarck, who had ex- 
pressed the desire to see him appointed to the German 
Court ; but Prince Orloff, when he reached Berlin, was 
already attacked with the illness, to which he succumbed 
a few months later, and the post was vacant once more. 

It was felt on all sides that upon the judicious choice 
of a successor to Prince Orloff depended the continuation 
of good relations between the two countries. The old 
Emperor William expressed the wish that a general should 
be appointed. The difficulty was to find one. It was 
then that Alexander III., with his usual common sense, 
said : " Let us send Paul Andrieievitch ; he is a real soldier 
and a thorough gentleman." 

This choice was entirely successful, and Count Schouva- 
loff very soon made for himself quite an exceptional position 
in Berlin. He was a grand seigneur of that old school 
in which William I. had himself been brought up ; he had 
tact, and he knew how to hold his own, as well as main- 
tain the dignity of his Court and of his country. During 
the long years that he remained in Germany he made for 
himself many friends, and managed to come with honour 
out of many a difficult situation. He was generally re- 
spected and liked in all circles, military as well as diplo- 
matic, and when he was recalled and appointed Governor- 
General of Warsaw and the Polish provinces there was 

66 



The Adlerbergs and Schouvaloffs 

general regret at the departure of Count and Countess 
Schouvaloff. 

The latter, a Mademoiselle Komaroff, whom the Count 
had married as his second wife, is still alive, and Mistress 
of the Household of the widowed Grand Duchess Vladimir. 
As for the Count, very soon after his appointment in 
Warsaw he was struck with apoplexy, and thenceforward 
dragged out a sad existence, incapable of moving, and 
yet retaining all the clearness of his intelligence and all 
the vivacity of his mind. He died one year later, and was 
generally mourned as one of the last gentlemen of that 
apparently bygone time, when gentlemanly deportment 
was considered before everything else to be indispensable. 

His eldest son, who had married a daughter of Count 
Worontzoff Dachkoff, the present Viceroy of the Caucasian 
provinces, fell a victim to the Nihilist movement, being 
murdered in Moscow, where he held the position of Governor. 
He was a charming young man, who promised to follow in 
his father's footsteps, and his tragic end created a great 
sensation at the time. 

Very much like his brother in appearance, and yet 
totally different in disposition, was Count Peter Andrieie- 
vitch Schouvaloff, whose career was even more brilliant. 
He was a very superior man, more of a statesman than 
Count Paul, and with larger views, a keener sense of the 
importance of events, and with more independent opinions. 
He had, moreover, a quality very rare in Russia, that of 
not hesitating to take the responsibility for his actions 
and of caring nothing for the judgment passed upon them 
by the public. He had been for years at the head of the 
famous Third Section, or secret police of the Empire, and 
it so happened that during his administration of that 
department the Nihilist troubles began. Actually he had 
been accused of having caused them by his extreme 

67 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

severity and acute sense of autocracy. I do not think 
that this accusation was a just one. If Schouvaloff kept 
the flag of absolutism aloft in Russia it was because he 
sincerely believed that it was the only way to prevent all 
the forces, known or unknown, which the reforms of 
Alexander II. had let loose from bursting out in an un- 
reasoned, wild revolt against Society in general. In his 
difficult position he had shown admirable tact, and on 
several occasions had been an efficacious intermediary 
between the Throne and the people. Many a delicate 
affair had been confided to him, and many a social scandal 
had been avoided or hushed up through his intervention, 
which had ever been tactful and wise. But when a wave 
of Liberal ideas apparently swept away the remnants that 
were left of common sense in the entourage of Alexander II., 
the days of Count Peter Schouvaloff became numbered. 
The Emperor had to yield to the public feeling that would 
have it that the Count had served his day and epoch, and 
that his removal from the post of head of the Third Section 
was a necessity. But as it was out of the question to 
deprive the State of the services of so useful a man, he 
was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, 
where a Russian Princess, the Grand Duchess Marie 
Alexandrovna, the only daughter of the Emperor, was 
about to take her place as the wife of the second son of 
Queen Victoria. 

This was the turning point in Count SchouvalofE's 
career. After he left England he filled the place of second 
Russian plenipotentiary at the Congress of Berlin, and 
then disappeared altogether from the political arena. He 
had allowed himself to be outwitted by Lord Beaconsfield 
upon the question of Cyprus, and in the opinion of the 
Russian public, as well as of the Russian press, had not 

upheld sufficiently Russian interests during the Congress. 

68 



The Adlerbergs and Schouvaloffs 

He was made by an unjust public the scapegoat for all the 
mistakes of others, which he could neither foresee nor 
repair. Gifted with an exceedingly keen perception, he 
had realised that Russia had not the means whereby to 
retain the advantages of the war ; and when he yielded 
to the necessities of the situation, it was with the know- 
ledge that this would not be forgiven to him, but as a real 
patriot he had the moral strength to accept the responsi- 
bility for evils which he had not personally brought about. 

His position in Berlin had been most painful and diffi- 
cult. He was, as it were, between two fires. On the 
one hand he had to fight against the quiet but firm deter- 
mination of Lord Beaconsfield, who would have gone to 
war rather than allow Russia to occupy Bulgaria and 
annex that province, and, on the other, he had to follow 
the instructions of Prince Gortschakov, whose extreme 
vanity blinded him to the difficulties of the situation. 
No one knew better than Count Peter Schouvaloff the 
state of public opinion in Russia ; no one understood 
more thoroughly that after he had signed his name at 
the foot of the Berlin Treaty, he would never more be 
called upon to serve his country, but would end his days 
in an undeserved ostracism. Yet he did not hesitate, and 
courageously assumed the responsibility of an act that 
no one deplored more thoroughly than he did himself. 

After his return to Russia he lived in St. Petersburg, 
and there continued to see his numerous friends, but never 
again took part in public life. Even when he died attacks 
against him did not cease, and I never remember more 
bitter criticisms uttered over a newly opened grave than 
those that were showered upon him. 

It would be difficult to find a pleasanter man socially 
than was Count Peter Schouvaloff ; not only was he liked 
by all those who had the privilege of his acquaintance, but 

69 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

he had many successes with women, who were quickly won 
by his chivalrous manner and the courtly grace with which 
he approached them. He had married a widow, the Countess 
Orloff Denissoff, but the marriage did not turn out so suc- 
cessfully as the courtship that preceded it, and the Count 
and Countess lived as much apart as might be without a 
formal separation. Physically, Count Peter Schouvaloff 
was extremely handsome ; he had most aristocratic features 
and a wonderful bearing. I shall never forget him during 
the Berlin Congress, when he certainly was the most pic- 
turesque figure there, with his ullures de grand seigneur, 
and a certain regality of manner that made everyone step 
aside to allow him to pass whenever he entered a room. 
Altogether, though I have met more intelligent men than 
Count Schouvaloff in the course of my life, I have not 
seen a more remarkable one. 



70 



CHAPTER VII 

ST. PETERSBURG BEFORE THE WAR OF 1877-8 

When, after several years of residence abroad, I returned 
to St. Petersburg, early in March, 1876, I found that during 
my long absence a considerable change had taken place 
in Society. For one thing, people talked more and dis- 
cussed more freely upon subjects which had been merely 
whispered before I had left the banks of the Neva. They 
had got into that habit during the period when the pro- 
jected and half-accomplished reforms which had heralded 
the new reign had been the subject not only of conversations, 
but also of discussion, an unknown thing at the time of 
the Emperor Nicholas. The Government itself had invited 
criticism by appealing to the country and asking it to express 
its opinions by the voice of the zemstvos, or local county 
councils in every Government, 

This establishment of the zemstvos had been received 
with a general joy. Young men belonging to the best 
families of the Empire had expressed not only their willing- 
ness but even their earnest desire to be appointed members 
of these assemblies, in the hope that they would thus be 
allowed to participate in the administration of the country. 
For a short time everything had gone off brilliantly, just 
as the introduction of the juges de paix, or mirovoy soudias, 
as they are called in Russian, gave universal satisfaction. 
However, very soon the Administration became alarmed at 
the independence showed by these zemstvos, and began 
to try to eliminate the independent members, who worked 

71 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

not from necessity, but from conviction that by doing so 
they were making themselves useful to the country in 
general. Governors of the different provinces, who in 
Russia are always taken out of the class of the regular 
functionaries, or Tchinownikis, as one calls them, were 
given secret instructions, which they but too gladly followed, 
of watching the deliberations of the zemstvos and of hinder- 
ing any attempt made by these assemblies to bring about 
local self-government, which was particularly dreaded in 
Court circles, where the system of centralisation of the 
Government in the hands of the few is to this present day 
strongly supported and established. But the upshot of 
it all was that these men — ^who in the enthusiasm of the 
first moment had eagerly embraced the opportunities which 
they imagined had been given to them to serve their country 
otherwise than by wearing a uniform — ^returned to St. 
Petersburg, and began to relate all that they had seen or 
heard, and thus their talk accustomed the public to hear 
discussion on questions that had slumbered before. Then 
the Universities began to move, and the Liberal papers 
abroad controlled by the Russian political refugees — ^who 
by an admirable feeling of patriotism had kept silent in 
order to allow the Emperor to have a free field for his 
projected reforms — ^began to get tired of waiting for a 
change that never came, though it had been pompously 
announced ; and they once more assumed the task of 
enlightening the public as to what in their opinion ought 
to be done. In a word, it was felt that the new system 
had failed, because no one had been found to carry on 
loyally the experiment which might have led to something, 
had it only been tried long enough. 

One satisfactory result accrued, however — ^that of accus- 
toming people to talk and to discuss, and to give up the 
sleepiness under which Russia had suffered for the previous 

72 



St. Petersburg before the War 

twenty-five years, although people who were experienced 
in the political conditions of other countries were soon aware 
of a certain incoherence of thought and aim in the dis- 
cussions, which resulted more often than not in confusion 
and even in absurdities. But one fact was evident, and 
that was that conversation was no longer confined to 
Society gossip, but turned on what was being done, or 
would be done, by the Government. 

This did not quite please the Emperor. He did not 
like to know that his actions were discussed. He could 
not well say so, but he made his Ministers feel that such 
was the case, and they, desirous of meeting with his appro- 
bation, attempted to bring about a return to the old order 
of things, and when they found this was no easy task, they 
looked about to see whether something else could not 
be found to engross public opinion and form the subject 
of its conversations. 
/ It is to this cause, and to this alone, that the war with 
Turkey, which broke out in 1877, can be attributed. It 
was engaged upon against the wishes of the Sovereign 
and the desires of the country, simply because an out- 
let had to be found for the ebullitions of public opinion, 
weary of waiting for an indefinite something which 
did not materialise, something which all wanted, but 
which no one could explain beyond saying that " it 
had to come." What was implied by this expression was 
precisely what nobody knew. 

Just at this moment, by ill chance, broke out the insur- 
rection in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Immediately a cam- 
paign, on purely religious lines, was begun in Russia 
against the Turks. The press began saying that Russia 
had a mission to perform in the Balkans, that it was her 
duty to help the Orthodox subjects of the Sultan, persecuted 
in their faith as well as in their nationality. The Slavophil 

73 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

party was started, and God alone knows the harm that 
it has done to the country. 

At first it enjoyed high and even august protection in 
St. Petersburg. The Empress Marie Alexandrovna, very 
pious, almost inclined to fanaticism, put herself unofficially 
at the head of the movement, with which it soon became 
known that she was thoroughly in sympathy, and it was 
her lady-in-waiting and intimate friend, the Countess 
Antoinette Bloudoff, who, with an energy worthy of a 
better cause, came forward to lend the weight of her 
name and of her position to the promoters of the libera- 
tion of the Slavs from the Turkish yoke. 

I must digress for a moment to refer more particularly 
to the Countess Bloudoff. She was a most remarkable 
woman. Many statesmen might have envied, and few 
of them have possessed, the clarity of her often mistaken 
view as to political events and their consequences. She 
was the daughter of one of the leading members of the 
Government during the reign of the Emperor Nicholas I., 
Count Dmitry Andrieievitch Bloudoff, for m.any years 
Procurator of the Holy Synod, and invested with the entire 
confidence of the monarch, who often used to say : " Blou- 
doff is the only man who will always do what I wish, in 
the way I want it done." He was a man of strong princi- 
ples, of stronger convictions ; often passionate, sometimes 
unjust, but never mean, never above owning himself to be 
in the wrong when it was proved to him to be the case, 
and with a loyalty such as is no longer met with. He was 
possessed of independence, even with his Sovereign, and 
was known to have opposed Nicholas on grave questions 
where he thought him to be wanting either in prudence or 
in justice. He had plenty of adversaries and but few 
enemies, which latter he disdained. He died as he had 
lived, a faithful servant of the Crown, and his daughter 

74 



St. Petersburg before the War 

inherited the favour which he had enjoyed. She was 
very much like him in character and even in appearance. 
Beauty she had none, yet she did not lack charm ; while 
intelligence she possessed in no small degree. She was 
the only great lady who held a salon, such as was under- 
stood by the term in France under the old regime, and 
that salon was at one time of immense importance. It 
was there that the idea of sending volunteers to Servia 
was first broached, and it was she who assured these 
volunteers that the Emperor would shut his eyes to their 
departure. It was she who kept the standard of public 
opinion at a high level ; she who persuaded some leading 
men in Moscow, such as Ivan Aksakoff, to organise these 
volunteers, and to begin in his paper a campaign in favour 
of the Orthodox brothers of Holy Russia, done to death 
by murderous Bashi Bazouks. 

Altogether the Countess Antoinette was an enthusiast, an 
exalted patriot according to old Russian ideas, when nation- 
ality and religion meant the same thing. StiU her zeal out- 
ran her discretion upon many occasions, and she came later 
on — after the failure of those hopes which she had been the 
first to raise and the last to give up — to regret the energy 
which she had expended in trying to realise a programme 
which was not in accord either with the needs or the desires 
of her country, and which only brought upon it disaster, 
both moral and material. She was compelled, much against 
her wishes, to be convinced that neither Bulgarians, nor 
Serbs, nor Greeks were worthy of interest ; that the majority 
of them — at that epoch, at least — ^were grabbing, money- 
loving, unscrupulous people, full of ingratitude, who never 
for one single moment thought of admitting Russian 
influence, which they rejected just as much as they had 
opposed Turkish rule. 

But at the time to which I am referring the Countess 

75 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Antoinette was in the enthusiastic period of her life and 
of her political activities. It was to her one went to 
receive the latest news as to the development of Eastern 
affairs. She kept up an active correspondence with General 
IgnatiefE, at that time Russian Ambassador in Constanti- 
nople ; sharing alike his ambitions and his desires to see 
the Crescent replaced by the Cross on the minarets of 
St. Sophia. Continually she made reports to the Empress 
as to what she had heard, and used to explain to that 
Sovereign that it was her duty to influence her husband 
not to reject the great mission given to Russia — that of 
driving back to the confines of Asia Minor the Turk who 
had dared to raise his tents in the city founded by Con- 
stantine the Great and destined by him to remain the 
bulwark of the Christian faith in the East. 

Alas, alas, for all these dreams ! Poor Countess Blou- 
doff survived them, and when she ended her days, long 
after all of them had been forgotten, she might well have 
felt all the bitterness of a life's disappointment. But this 
was not the case — at least outwardly. She was far too 
clever not to admit her defeat, but she maintained that 
her failure had been due to circumstances only, and that 
one day Russia would fulfil the mission which she had 
been given by the Almighty. She remained ever the 
same bright, clever woman, always deeply interested in 
politics, in literature, in art, even in current gossip, though 
in a most kindly way. For she was indeed kind — that 
small, short woman with the piercing eyes and the quick 
flash of sympathy in them, which made them glisten every 
time that she was being told something that interested 
her. Easy to move, she never refused a service, and at 
the time when her very name was a power she tried always 
to do good, to bring to the notice of her Imperial mistress 
every case in which the latter could help, either by a word 

76 



St. Petersburg before the War 

spoken in season or by money given just when and where 
it was needed. Towards the end of her life she grew^very 
infirm, and could hardly leave her arm-chair ; but'"^ she 
loved seeing people, though her rooms were no longer 
thronged as during the time when she was all-powerful. 
She had kept a small circle of old friends, who came to 
see her almost daily, and through them she remained in 
touch with that social world in which she had been a 
leader. 

Countess Bloudoff had one hete noire, and that was 
the famous Mme. Olga Novikoff. Poor "O.K." never 
guessed the antipathy which she inspired, and always 
imagined that her activity in favour of the Slav cause, 
and her influence over Mr. Gladstone, were highly appre- 
ciated by the Countess Antoinette ; but the latter had 
too keen a sense of humour not to feel that Mme. Novikoff 
was making herself ridiculous, and, what was worse, was 
involving in that ridicule her country itself. " Je deteste 
ces ambassadeurs volontaires en jupon," she used to say, 
and she was not far wrong. The role played by the too 
celebrated Princess Lieven needs a very great lady, and 
one with a very large fortune or a great position, not to 
give rise to calumny and to ironical smiles and comments, 
and " O. K." had none of these advantages. It is still 
a question whether the Princess Lieven coiild to-day have 
made for herself a position such as the one she enjoyed 
in London and in Paris. Society was different then, and 
fewer outsiders had entered its fold ; people well born, 
and belonging to the upper ten thousand, could still pre- 
tend to influence, simply by reason of their being within 
that charmed circle. Now that classes are mixed, a person 
like Mme. Novikoff, who is merely a gentlewoman, runs 
a great risk of being considered in the light of a simple 
journalist in need of copy, and such only wield that measured 

77 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

influence which they delude themselves into believing they 
possess. Countess Antoinette knew all this well, and she 
disliked intensely women of the style of her famous com- 
patriot, about whom she once made the most bitter remark 
I ever heard her utter against anyone : " Cette femtne Id 
fait de la politique," she said, " comme un& saltimbanque ses 
tours de passe passe." 

These reminiscences have caused me to diverge far 
from the subject of this chapter. What I wanted to say 
was that the war of 1877-8 was the natural result of the 
activity which the ill-executed reforms of Alexander II. 
had awakened in the country ; an activity which a certain 
circle of St. Petersburg Society, headed by the Countess 
Bloudoff and the little coterie of the Empress Marie 
Alexandrovna — in which her confessor. Father Bajanov, 
was a leading figure — ^helped to divert from the channel 
towards which it had been directed : that of the internal 
administration of the country. The Government, that 
never for one single instant admitted the possibility of 
defeat, secretly encouraged this diversion, and, thanks to 
all these circumstances, the Emperor, who was the only 
person who sincerely wished that peace might not be 
disturbed, found himself drawn into a war the consequences 
of which were to be the disastrous Treaty of Berlin, the 
extraordinary development of Nihilism, and finally his 
own assassination. Dark days were about to dawn for 
Russia, and when again I left St. Petersburg I was far 
from anticipating the changes that its Society would experi- 
ence between the day of my departure and that of my 
return to the capital, when everything was different and 
another Sovereign upon the Throne. 



78 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE EASTERN WAR AND AFTERWARDS 

I DO not think that the Eastern War of 1877 was so popular 
as people were fain to represent, even at its beginning. 
The Slav movement, which had sent thousands of volun- 
teers to Servia to help the Christian subjects of the Sultan 
against their oppressors, was very popular at the moment 
of its inception, but as soon as the volunteers began to 
return home and the public heard something about *' these 
Slav brothers " it had been eager to defend, there was a 
violent reaction. People began to ask what good it was 
to sacrifice Russian blood for the needs of people who turned 
out to be not only cowards but brigands as bad as the 
Bashi Bazouks of whose cruelties they complained. Had 
the Emperor declared war during the summer of 1876, 
before the battle of Alexinatz had been fought and lost, 
the enthusiasm certainly would have been great ; but by 
April, 1877, public opinion had had time to cool, and 
serious people were apprehensive as to the result of what, 
after all, was nothing but an adventure unworthy of a 
great nation. 

The army itself, that for months had been kept at 
Kichinev on a war basis, was beginning to tire of its armed 
inaction ; and, what was worse, the incapacity of those 
in command had already become evident, demoralising 
the troops and breeding discontent among them. The 
Grand Duke Nicholas, who was in supreme command, 
had never been very popular, and the measures he had 

79 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

taken in view of the approaching campaign were severely 
criticised. One wondered why men with a serious military 
reputation — such, for instance, as Todleben, the defender 
of Sebastopol — ^had not been called upon to give at least 
their advice as to what should be done. The of&cers, more 
competent to form an opinion as to the morale of the soldiers 
than the Staff of the Grand Duke, knew very well that their 
men did not believe in the walk- over that was promised 
to them, and they knew also that the many refugees who 
had crowded to the Russian camp from Bulgaria and Servia 
had made anything but a good impression as to the qualities 
of their nations on their would-be liberators. 

When, therefore, the war began in earnest, it was with 
far less enthusiasm among the army than was confidently 
expected and had been promised to the Emperor. When 
the Imperial manifesto was read announcing that war 
had been declared, and concluding with the words : " We 
order our faithful troops to cross the frontiers of Turkey," 
it was noticed that the hurrahs that greeted them proceeded 
more from the officers than from the ranks, where they 
were but faintly echoed. It was only after the Danube 
had been crossed that anything like animation became 
evident in the army. To stimulate it a religious propaganda 
was started, and all the old legends concerning Constanti- 
nople and the mosque of St. Sophia, destined to become 
again a Christian church thanks to the efforts of Russia, 
were revived. That was a mistake of which the future 
was to prove the abysmal extent. 

At length came the first battle of Plevna. It was 
there that Skobeleff, " the White General," " Ak Pasha " 
as the Turks called him, won immortal fame. The men- 
tion of his name always recalls to my mind that sad and 
bloody day of the 30th of August, 1877, when the fortress 
was stormed for the third time in response to the mad 

80 



The Eastern War and Afterwards 

idea of the Grand Duke Nicholas to present it as an offer- 
ing to his brother on his name-day. It was a beautiful 
summer morning, with the roses blooming in the fields, 
and a clear blue sky lighting up what was so soon to become 
a scene of horror. The Turkish town lay in a valley, all 
surrounded by hills, each of which was a redoubt whence 
the enemy's artillery was directed against our troops. 
They were ordered to storm it, and valiantly did they 
attempt to do so at three different times through that 
morning. As each regiment rushed to the attack, it was 
decimated by the deadly fire of the Turkish guns, thousands 
of men being mown down like ripe corn. At length the 
Bender Regiment was told to advance. It was commanded 
by the veteran Colonel Panioutine, to whom Skobeleff him- 
self gave the orders to march. Panioutine looked up at 
the fort, which he knew that he could not by any possi- 
bility hope to wrest from the enemy, and simply answered 
with the classical word of the Russian soldier, " Slouchaious " 
(I shall obey) ; then he took off his cap and made the 
sign of the Cross. In dead silence the whole regiment 
took off their caps and crossed themselves, following the 
example of their commanding officer. 

Skobeleff turned towards his staff and said : "If Pani- 
outine is repulsed, I will myself lead the troops to the 
attack." 

He did lead them forward — ^led them to their deatb 

and to his glory. To his soldiers he appeared " the true 

god of war," as Archibald Forbes justly described him. The 

troops followed him with an enthusiasm which made them 

forget their own danger, and the Turkish bullets whistling 

in their ears, and their old commander falling on the field 

of honour before their eyes. Skobeleff was the only object 

of their regard; and they seemed to be asking him in mute 

supplication to show them the way to conquer or to die. 
G 81 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

When all was over, when the shades of night had 
fallen, and the sun gone down upon the scene of carnage, 
the " White General " turned his steps towards an ambu- 
lance where he had been told that one of his friends had 
been carried wounded unto death. When he gazed upon 
Panioutine lying on a straw couch, awaiting the eternal dawn, 
the hero, who unmoved had seen men fall around him 
stricken by the bullets of the enemy, lost the calm with 
which he had confronted death, and, bursting into sobs, 
exclaimed in a broken voice, " And to think that all this 
has been in vain, all in vain.'* 

The war continued, and at last Plevna fell, not, how- 
ever, before old Todleben had been called to the rescue ; 
the veteran of Sebastopol, who had been considered too 
old to be any good, was, when all seemed lost, asked to 
come and repair the mistakes and follies of others. Then 
came the day when Osman Pasha gave up his sword, and 
the fortress which he had defended so stubbornly fell into 
Russian hands. It was a bleak November day, with a 
cruel wind blowing from the Balkans, freezing men's souls 
as well as their bodies. The Grand Duke Nicholas went 
in an open carriage to meet the vanquished Turkish general, 
greeting him with the respect and courtesy which his 
bravery had deserved. The Russian troops, seeing the 
old warrior sitting by their commander's side, burst into 
acclamations, which were but homage to the courage of 
their vanquished opponents. 

Then followed the passage of the Balkans, the battles 
of Shipka, when General Raiovski so bravely crossed the 
murderous passes of these famous mountains, and finally 
San Stefano, which we did not have the courage to defend 
against Europe, incensed at our successes, and the treaty 
to which General Ignatieff and M. Nelidoff were to put 
their names. 

82 



The Eastern War and Afterwards 

Much has been written about that famous treaty, but 
now that years have passed since it was signed we may 
well ask ourselves whether our occupation of Constanti- 
nople would have been so dangerous to the peace of the 
world as was thought at the time, and what result a war 
with England would have had for us. Our diplomats were 
too weak either to understand our position or to see farther 
than the needs of the moment. The Emperor felt himself 
bound by the declaration which, in an unguarded moment, 
he had made to Lord Augustus Loftus, that he did not 
seek territorial compensations in the Balkans. He also 
did not like it to appear that he had abandoned the chival- 
rous position he had taken up when he declared that he 
had only gone to war to free from the Turkish yoke the 
Christian subjects of the Sultan, and not for his own per- 
sonal satisfaction. The Emperor, indeed, carried this 
vanity — ^for it was nothing else-— so far that he sacrificed 
to it the interests of his own people, and the desires of 
his army. Less of a politician than Prince Bismarck — who 
had so well understood in 1870 the importance of giving 
satisfaction to the wishes of the troops and to the amour 
propre of the nation by insisting upon the Germans enter- 
ing Paris for a few hours at least — ^Alexander II. thought 
it beneath him to take his soldiers before St. Sophia, and 
to allow some of the regiments quartered at San Stefano 
to enter Constantinople. He had neither the conscious- 
ness of his own power nor a just comprehension of the 
recognition which everybody, be they individuals or nations, 
must have for accomplished facts. He allowed himself to 
be bluffed by Lord Beaconsfield, and did not understand 
that when England threatened it was because she knew 
that she had — at that time at least — ^no other means than 
threats of enforcing her wishes. Much later, during the 
Berlin Conference, I asked the English Prime Minister 

83 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

what he would have done had we not heeded his menaces 
and entered Constantinople. He replied to me in the follow- 
ing memorable words : "I would have achieved my greatest 
diplomatic triumph in getting you out of it without going 
to war." 

Alexander II. did not realise this, and when it was 
pointed out to him upon his return to St. Petersburg from 
Bulgaria, before the Treaty of San Stefano had been signed, 
he said that he could not run any risk — as though risks 
were not the only means through which nations can accom- 
plish their task in history ! 

Perhaps no war has been so disastrous to Russia as 
this unfortunate Turkish campaign, disastrous in spite of 
the victories which attended it, because it sounded the 
knell of our influence in the East, and gave birth to the 
Bulgarian, Servian, Montenegrin, and Roumanian king- 
doms. These small States are destined one day to be 
absorbed by the strongest and most cunning among them, 
who will reap the benefits of our efforts and bring the Cross 
once more over the minarets of St. Sophia, thus entirely 
destroying the old tradition that it was Russia who was 
destined to erect it and to replace the Greek Emperors 
upon the throne of old Byzantium. 

San Stefano reminds me of Count Ignatieff, and I will 
say a few words concerning him. He had great defects, 
but at the same time he possessed what so many of our 
politicians lack — a keen sense of duty to keep both the 
Russian flag and Russian prestige well aloft. He was a 
patriot in the full sense of the term, and would never 
admit the possibility of returning along a road once 
entered upon. He wanted other nations to fear Russia, 
and he well knew that, in Turkey especially, the moment 
that one did not domineer over one's colleagues of the 
diplomatic corps, one was lost in the eyes of the Govern- 

84 



The Eastern War and Afterwards 

ment to which one was accredited. Throughout the long 
years during which he was Russian Ambassador in 
Constantinople, Russian influence was paramount. The 
Embassy was a centre not only of social activity, but 
also of political power. 

The Turks were very well aware that Ignatieff would 
never have hesitated to take the most energetic measures 
if one of his countrymen had been made the object of 
an indignity of any kind. In that he followed the example 
of England, who always maintains the interests of her 
citizens abroad. In Russia, on the contrary, it seems 
almost a fundamental principle for diplomats to show 
themselves as disagreeable as possible to those of their 
countrymen who happen to get into difficulties abroad, and 
to refuse them either aid or protection. One has only to 
see what happens in Paris, where both Embassy and Con- 
sulate treat worse than dogs Russians who apply there for 
assistance, and instead of protecting them, seem to do all 
that is possible to make their position even more unpleasant. 

Count Ignatieff was the only Russian Ambassador who 
made it his duty to show not only every civility, but every 
protection to Russians in Turkey, and he thus sustained the 
prestige of his country. He had, what only great politicians 
have, a gift of foreseeing the future, and realising the 
consequences of even the most insignificant events. His 
conceptions of the results which the Berlin Treaty was 
bound to have were quite extraordinary, and it would be 
curious, if his family ever publishes the interesting memoirs 
which he has left, to read the note which he addressed 
upon that subject to Alexander II. In this he clearly 
proved that an autonomous principality of Bulgaria would 
inevitably become independent, and transform itself into 
a kingdom that would claim the succession to the Greek 

Emperors, to which Russia had all along aspired. 

B5 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

It is a great pity that the genius of Count Ignatieff was 
marred by a deplorable love for intrigue that had become, 
as it were, a second nature to him. Long accustomed to 
dealing with Asiatic natures — ^to whom a lie more or 
less is of no consequence — and with whom he had, when 
quite a young man, concluded a treaty which was to prove 
most advantageous for Russia; and still more used to 
Turks and to the various political trickeries for which 
Constantinople was ever famous, he seemed to think that 
similar tactics could be employed with success in European 
diplomacy. He apparently thought he could hoodwink 
Western diplomats as he had hoodwinked the Ministers 
of Sultan Abdul Aziz. Of course he made a vast mistake, 
and did not realise that in view of the reputation which 
he had acquired on the Bosphorus, his only chance was 
to keep a rigid guard upon every word he uttered. Hence, 
at the very time he was staying at Hatfield House, he 
incensed Lord Salisbury by entering into an intrigue 
against him with Austria. 

It was thought that the failure of Russian diplomacy 
at the Berlin Conference would put an end to the career 
of Count Ignatieff, but to general surprise Alexander III. 
recalled him to power in the responsible position of Minister 
of the Interior, after he had parted with his father's Liberal 
councillors under the influence of M. Pobedonostseff. In 
that capacity Ignatieff again gave a proof of his political 
foresight, and at the same time of the mistaken nature 
of the methods he employed to realise his conceptions of 
Government. 

This occasion arose, I should say here, after the assassin- 
ation of Alexander II. had struck terror all over Russia, 
and when everyone felt that only a strong hand could stay 
the spread of the revolution. At the same time, it was 

also felt that an outlet had to be given to the impatience 

86 



The Eastern War and Afterwards 

of certain circles of society, who were clamouring for a 
change, and screaming that the promulgation of a Constitu- 
tion was the only means to save Russia from disaster. 
Ignatieff was too clever not to see that, sooner or later, 
such a Constitution would have to be granted, and perhaps 
granted under conditions and in such circumstances that 
it would appear to have been snatched by force instead 
of bestowed voluntarily. He then evolved the idea of 
reviving the old Russian institution called the Zemski 
Sabor, which existed before the iron hand of Peter the 
Great had transformed into an autocracy the old mon- 
archy of Ivan the Terrible. He thought that under a wise 
Sovereign such as Alexander HI. this calling together of 
the clever and honest men of each Government — especially 
if this choice of men was left to the Emperor — might have 
a beneficial influence over the destinies of the country. In 
this attempt, however, he failed, for he found armed against 
him not only the chief counsellor of the Tsar, the redoubt- 
able Pobedonostseff, but also the Sovereign himself, who 
feared that by accepting the proposal of Count Ignatieff 
people would be led to think that he departed from these 
principles of absolute government which he had made up 
his mind to maintain. Ignatieff was sacrificed, and had 
to tender his resignation, and this time his political career 
came definitely to an end. 

Many years later I discussed with him the chxumstances 
that had attended his fall, and he explained to me what 
had been his idea. Events had crowded upon us ; 
Alexander III. was no more, and the disaster of Tsushima — 
in which the Count had lost a son — a disaster indeed such 
as Russia had never suffered before, had taken place. 
Everything was changed in the country, and the first 
Duma called together by Nicholas II. had just been dis- 
missed. I asked Ignatieff his opinion of the general 

87 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

political condition of the country. He then began to talk 
of the time when he was Minister of the Interior, and 
expressed his regret that his plan of calling together the 
Zemski Sahor had not met with success : "I am sure 
that it would have proved a safety valve for the country," 
he said. " You see, we were bound to come to some 
such solution, and it would have been infinitely better 
for Russia had people got accustomed to take part in 
political life under a monarch who had enough authority 
to direct that necessary adoption of Occidental forms of 
Government, which we could not escape ct la tongue. Under 
a weak Sovereign — and who can deny that Nicholas II. 
is weak ? — a Duma can very easily assume the shape of 
a Convention such as the one that sent Louis XVI. to 
the scaffold in 1793. It only requires one energetic man 
to do that, and what guarantee have we that such a man 
will not be found ? " 

I have often thought of these words, and wondered 
whether they would ever come true — ^whether they were 
the utterance of a discontented politician, or revealed 
the foresight of a real statesman. 



88 



CHAPTER IX 

THE BERLIN CONGRESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 

I DO not propose to write a history of the Berlin Congress. 
First it would be painful ; then again, to a certain degree, 
it has lost its interest. But I will say a few words as to 
some of the plenipotentiaries to whom was entrusted the 
task of drawing out the famous Treaty, which is certainly 
discussed to the present day, yet is no more understood 
than at the time of its conclusion. 

Russia was represented at this celebrated assembly by 
Prince Gortschakov, Count Schouvaloff, and M. Oubril, at 
that time Russian Ambassador at the Court of Berlin. 
To tell the truth, it was the second of these gentlemen, 
together with some officials from our Foreign Office, such 
as M. de Jomini and Baron Hamburger, who did all the 
work. M. Oubril was a mute personage, whose role was 
entirely passive ; while, on the other hand. Prince Gort- 
schakov, who believed himself to be the leading light of 
the Congress, only hindered others from coming to a 
practical solution of the many difficulties that rendered 
the situation so strained. Had he not been there, it is 
probable that Russia would have obtained better con- 
ditions than those that were imposed upon her, and cer- 
tainly she could have made more out of the Convention 
which Count Schouvaloff had concluded with the Cabinet 
of St. James's before his departure from London to attend 
the Congress. 

It is to be questioned, indeed, what could have been 

89 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

done to satisfy the inordinate vanity of the Russian Chan- 
cellor, had not Baron Jomini been there to smooth matters 
with his unfailing tact. Very few people in Russia realise 
what the country owes to Baron Jomini, to his capacity 
for work, his conscientious way of looking at facts, the 
clearness of his mind, which allowed him always to marshal 
things in their right order, to view them with common 
sense — ^the quality which our diplomacy most lacks — ^and 
his perfect knowledge of diplomatic traditions, as well as 
the character of his immediate chiefs. He also was the 
most perfect French scholar in the department of Foreign 
Affairs, and, indeed, of all the plenipotentiaries assembled 
in Berlin, with the exception, perhaps, of Lord Odo Russell ; 
and this advantage allowed him to give certain turns to cer- 
tain phrases which made them sound less offensive to the 
parties concerned than would otherwise have been the case. 

Baron Hamburger was a very different type from Baron 
Jomini. He was supposed to be a great favourite with 
Prince Gortschakov, and had a rather indifferent reputation. 
But he, too, was a good worker and, moreover, a modest 
man, who never put himself forward on any occasion, but 
was, nevertheless, suspected of sometimes pouring oil on 
a fire which perhaps would have gone out of itself had it 
not been for his intervention. 

The chief attention of the Congress was concentrated 
upon the English plenipotentiaries and upon Count Andrassy, 
the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs. The latter was 
supposed to rank among Russia's principal foes, owing 
to his position as a Hungarian noble, and the part he had 
taken in the rebellion of 1848, which had only been sub- 
dued by the intervention of the Emperor Nicholas and 
Russian troops. 

Count Andrassy was said to be a very clever man ; I 
think he was more than that — a. clever politician. Never- 

90 



The Berlin Congress 

theless, he was no statesman. His was the narrow view 
which the French call la politique de clocher, or the politics 
of " the parish pump," as the English have it. All his 
thoughts were concentrated upon Hungary, and all his 
judgments were Hungarian — not even Austrian. Pro- 
foundly ignorant, as is generally the case with the aristo- 
cracy in the realm of the Hapsburgs, he had all the insolence 
of the grand seigneur that he undoubtedly was, as well as 
the obstinacy of a narrow mind that believes itself to be a 
great one. He had all the prejudices of his class, all the 
arrogance of the Austrian character, and all the unscrupu- 
lousness that has always distinguished Austrian politicians. 

Andrassy had arrived in Berlin with only one fixed 
idea, and that was to humiliate Russia, as much as was 
humanly possible, and to make her expiate the crime of 
having obliged the rebel Gyorgyi to lay down his arms 
before the Russian army. Had it not been for that cir- 
cumstance, he might have proved more tractable. As it 
was, he had sworn to his countrymen to return to them 
with triumph over the hated foe, and he used unmercifully 
the advantages that circumstances gave to him. 

Prince Bismarck had need of Andrassy, and conse- 
quently lent him assistance that he would not have extended 
under different circumstances ; but the German Chancellor 
well knew that the one inevitable result of the Congress 
would be a coolness in German relations with Russia, and 
the resentment of the latter country against the Berlin 
Cabinet and the leaders of its policy. He also was well 
aware that certain circumstances had got beyond his con- 
trol, and so all his efforts were directed towards bringing 
the work of the Congress to a close, whether successful or 
not, at any rate to a close that would not damage German 
interests. He played the part of the " honest broker," 
as he had called himself, and in^a sense he succeeded. He 

91 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

did not, however, attain a tangible result with regard to 
the establishment of a modus vivendi between Vienna and 
St. Petersburg, and the fault of it lay entirely with Count 
Andrassy ; the latter's haughtiness and narrowness of 
mind unfitted him for the work of diplomacy. 

In comparison with the impatience of Count Andrassy, 
the dignity of the English plenipotentiaries stood out as 
something quite unique and wonderful. Lord Salisbury, 
that worthy descendant of Elizabeth's great Minister, 
imposed the weight of his powerful personality, and every 
single word he uttered was pregnant with the earnestness 
which pervaded his whole character. Never aggressive, 
courteous even when it was necessary to oppose or con- 
tradict those with whom he was discussing, he showed 
firmness without insolence, and amiability without weakness. 
There was no meanness about this truly great man, great in 
every sense : in his convictions, his resolutions, the know- 
ledge of which he never boasted, but of which he knew very 
well how to make use when he found it necessary to do so. 

Lord Beaconsfield was a perfect contrast, not only to 
his English colleagues, but to everyone else in Berlin. 
His was the figure that was scanned with the greatest 
amount of curiosity, and his strongly marked Oriental 
features contrasted with his suave manners, that reminded 
one of the days of the old French Court of Louis XV. He 
was perhaps the one man who thought the most during 
all the deliberations of the Congress, and his thoughts were 
as much for himself as for his country. 

He was also the only one who could afford to laugh 
at the anxieties with which other people were watching 
the turn of events. He alone knew the amount of bluff 
that had been needed to persuade the world that England 
had come to the Congress with the firm intention of going 
to war if her wishes were not granted, or her interests 

92 



The Berlin Congress 

unconsidered. He was the only one who feared that 
Count Schouvaloff's perspicacity would see through the 
comedy which he had been playing, and advise his Sovereign 
to disdain British threats ; and as I have already said, 
he was meditating upon the best way to drive the Russians 
out of Constantinople in the event of their entering it, 
without having to fire a single shot. 

One evening, at a party given by the Austrian Ambassa- 
dress, the Countess Karolyi — ^who, later on, was to create 
such a sensation in London — Beaconsfield began talking 
with me, and grew quite animated in explaining how 
satisfied he felt at the success of his policy. He then 
told me the following amusing story : ** When 1 was a 
little boy I loved sugar plums, but was strictly forbidden 
to eat any. My schoolfellows, who knew this, were con- 
stantly teasing me about it and the severity of my parents. 
One day I became angry and made a bet that I would 
bring some of these cherished sweets and eat them before 
the whole school. The bet was accepted, but 1 found it 
was not so easy as I thought to win it. I had no money 
to buy sugar plums, and those 1 asked to make me a pre- 
sent of some refused, saying that my parents would not 
like it. I did not know what to do, when suddenly the 
thought occurred to me to use some imitation sweets which 
I had found among my toys. I therefore brought them 
triumphantly to school, and, nasty as they proved to be, 
ate them in public, so as to show that 1 had been able 
to get what I wanted. 1 was horribly ill afterwards, but 
this little adventure was a lesson to me for the rest of my 
life, and I made up my mind always to appear to succeed 
even when such was not the case. The world never asks 
you whether you eat real or imitation sugar plums ; it 
only notices that you have got the plums, and admires 
you for having had the pluck to take them." 

93 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Lord Beaconsfield did not speak any other language 
than English, and this, in a measure, placed him at a dis- 
advantage with the other plenipotentiaries. Most of them, 
it is true, understood English, but nevertheless he would 
often have been embarrassed had he not been most ably 
seconded by his colleague, Lord Odo Russell. 

The latter was certainly a unique personality. Few 
people have been gifted with more tact, more gentle but 
firm urbanity ; few men have possessed such strong common 
sense allied with such bright intelligence, such keen sense 
of humour, and such statesmanlike views. He was a 
persona grata everywhere, with Queen Victoria as well as 
with her Ministers, no matter to what party they belonged ; 
with Prince Bismarck, as well as with that section of Berlin 
Society that was opposed to the Iron Chancellor. Together 
with his clever and charming wife, the daughter of the 
late Lord Clarendon, he had made his house in Berlin a 
perfect centre of all that was clever, interesting, and amusing 
in the German capital. He was trusted by the Crown Prince 
and by the Crown Princess of Germany, and nevertheless 
contrived never to fall under suspicion of a political intrigue 
of any kind, which would have been more than easy, con- 
sidering the gossip that rendered life so very difficult in 
Berlin. He did not commit a single indiscretion during 
his long diplomatic career, and never was guilty of a 
blunder. His knowledge of humanity was amusing because 
of its accuracy, and the quiet, dry remarks in which he 
sometimes indulged revealed the wit that had given them 
birth. He certainly contributed in no small degree to 
the success of the Congress from the social point of view. 
It was impossible to resist his politeness and amiability, 
and under their pleasant influence most bitter adversaries 
of the Conference would be conciliated whilst dining or 
having tea in the hospitable rooms of the British Embassy 

94 



The Berlin Congress 

after the most desperate differences a few hours earlier. 
Without Lord Odo Russell, the Congress might not have 
ended so quickly, and certainly not so well. He knew how 
to elude difficulties, to pass over painful subjects, and to 
show the best points in every question. At his death 
England lost her most brilliant diplomat. 

Lord Odo was sometimes very amusing in the anec- 
dotes which he related, or the remarks which he made. 
One that he told me concerned the late Lord Salisbury, 
who, as everyone knows, shared with the rest of his family 
the defect of being rather neglige in his dress and general 
appearance. One evening Lord Odo and 1 were chatting 
about this — not ill-naturedly, for it is doubtful which of 
us had the greatest admiration for the remarkable states- 
man in question — and he laughingly mentioned to me 
his surprise when, one day after the dinner-bell of the 
Embassy had been ringing, he found Lord Salisbury, who 
was living there, still busy at work in his study. " He 
rushed out," said the Ambassador, " and before I had 
had time to put aside the papers on the table, literally 
in three minutes was back again ready for dinner. Now 
in that time he could not even have washed his hands, 
yet there he was in his evening clothes 1 I was so thunder- 
struck that I felt compelled to ask him how he managed 
to dress so quickly. Do you know what reply I got ? — 
and the Ambassador's mouth showed a malicious smile : 
* Oh, my dear Russell, changing one's coat is done at 
once, and I had black trousers on already.' " 

Another hit of Russell's was made apropos of the 
famous Princess Lison Troubetzkoy, the friend of Thiers, 
who had played an important part at the debut of the 
Third Republic, when her salon in Paris was supposed to 
be a succursale of the Elysee. This enterprising lady, 
who lived only for politics, and who had made herself so 

95 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

thoroughly ridiculous in St. Petersburg, had arrived in 
Berlin, fully persuaded — Heaven knows by whom other 
than herself — ^that the Congress could not get on without 
her, and that her presence and knowledge of politics 
were indispensable to Prince Gortschakov. Someone said 
in presence of Odo Russell that it was extroardinary how 
a clever man like Thiers could have been taken in by 
the Princess, who did not even possess the instinct for 
intrigue, but was only a very vain woman desiring to pass 
for what she was not. 

"It is very simple," Russell replied. " Princess Lison 
has always been envious of the position which the Princess 
Lieven at one time occupied in Paris society, Thiers was 
always jealous of Guizot; they both imagined that by 
imitating their friendship for one another they could 
replace them in importance. But, you see, they forgot 
that one must have also le physique de Vemploi. Guizot 
was a tall and dry old man, and Madame de Lieven a thin, 
hard, old woman, whereas Thiers is small and bright and 
Princess Troubetzkoy short and lively. So you see, that 
though things may be the same, c*est pourtant plus petit," 
he ended in French, with an inimitable twinkle in his eye. 

France had sent to Berlin as her first representative 
M. Waddington, who at the time was presiding at the 
Foreign Of&ce, and the second plenipotentiary was the 
Comte de St. Vallier, then occupying the post of Ambassador 
at the Court of the Emperor William. The latter was a 
very remarkable man, perhaps as remarkable as his chief, 
and without the former's phlegmatic nature and quietness 
which he owed to his English origin. M. Waddington's 
influence was beneficial in many ways. He was a perfect 
gentleman, and though perhaps slow and pompous, he 
was a keen observer, a man of tact, and one who knew 
how to make the best of circumstances. He was watchful 

96 



The Berlin Congress 

to seize every possible opportunity to raise the prestige 
of his country and impress others with the conviction 
that, though Prussia had been victorious in 1870, the defeat 
had not deprived France of her place in the great Euro- 
pean concert. It was impossible to show more dignity 
than he did, nor to combine it with greater firmness and 
courtesy. 

He was well seconded by the Comte de St. Vallier, who 
was the very first French statesman to see the possibility 
— ^nay the probability — of a Russo-French alliance as an 
outcome of the Berlin Congress. He had guessed that 
public opinion in St. Petersburg would never forgive 
Russian diplomacy for its failure to obtain real advantages 
from the war just ended, and that it would also cherish 
a terrible resentment against Germany and Prince Bis- 
marck for not having assisted Russia after her neutrality 
had enabled Prussia to accomplish the conquest of the 
eastern provinces of France in 1871 and to compel that 
country to sign the Treaty of Frankfort. The Count 
realised at once the consequences of the Russian irritation, 
and doubtless there is still in the pigeon-holes of the 
Foreign Office in Paris a report which he addressed on that 
subject to his Government. Therein he firmly insisted 
that the time had come to consider the possibility of a 
friendly understanding with the Cabinet of St. Petersburg, 
and of working towards the completion of an alliance which 
circumstances would render indispensable to both countries, 
and from which both might derive enormous benefits. 

Of all the plenipotentiaries assembled in Berlin, those 

of Turkey played the saddest part. M^hemet Ali, a German 

by birth, felt ill at ease in the country upon which he 

had turned his back, and whose religion he had spurned ; 

Karatheodori Pasha was a Christian, and as such was not 

the proper person to defend the interests of Mussulman 
H 97 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Turkey. They both felt that whatever they might do or 
say they could not conquer circumstance nor avert the 
fate that had decreed that Turkey should emerge from 
the conflict diminished in prestige and territory. They 
lived a very retired life in Berlin, seldom leaving their 
hotel other than to attend the sittings of the Congress. 

During the month the Congress lasted, no one followed 
its deUberations with more interest and greater anxiety 
than the Emperor Alexander II. When he agreed to 
Germany's proposal for its assembly he hoped much from 
his beloved uncle, the Emperor William, upon whose grati- 
tude he relied for the tacit help which Russia had given 
Prussia by its non-intervention in France after Sedan. 
Unfortunately for these hopes, his uncle was disabled 
from taking any part in public affairs at this critical moment. 
A few days before the opening of the Congress the attempt 
of Nobiling on the life of William I. took place, and the 
illness which followed upon the severe wound which he 
received obliged him to delegate the Regency to his son, 
and Russia was deprived of her best friend at a time when 
she needed him the most. 

I have said already that Alexander II. was very vin- 
dictive. He had not enough political sense to distinguish 
between foreseen and unforeseen events, and not enough 
shrewdness to fix responsibility where it really belonged. 
He became bitter, not only against Germany generally, but 
against the Prussian Royal Family, and though he after- 
wards met his uncle at Skiernievice and Alexandrovo, 
their relations were never so cordial as they had been 
before. Alexander II. never visited Berlin again, though 
he once sent his son the Tsarevitch with his wife on a 
courtesy visit, in return for his uncle's attempts to re- 
establish the old family ties which the Berlin Congress 
had so rudely shattered. 

98 



CHAPTER X 

Alexander's love affairs 

Alexander IL was always susceptible to feminine charms. 
From his early youth women had exercised a great attrac- 
tion for him, and the recipients of his favours were many. 
When quite a young man, and long before his marriage, 
he had been in love with Mademoiselle Sophie Dachkoff, 
a maid of honour to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, 
and his attentions became so marked that Society began 
to talk about the matter. The young lady, however, dis- 
played a strength of will rare at her age — she was scarcely 
eighteen — and sought an explanation with the Grand Duke, 
when she told him plainly that as she could not be his 
wife his attentions were not desirable. She then married 
Prince Gregory Gagarine, the nephew of the celebrated 
Madame Svetchine, and for a number of years settled 
with him abroad. Prince Gagarine was a distinguished 
man, a great artist, who subsequently became Director of 
the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. When he 
returned to the capital with the Princess she had already 
passed her first youth, and the history of her romance 
with the then Emperor was nearly forgotten. She lived 
to an advanced age, extremely respected by all, and held 
in high esteem by the Imperial Family. At the Coronation 
of the present Sovereign she was appointed Dame a Portrait, 
the highest feminine distinction at the Court of Russia, 
and enjoyed for some years the advantages attached to 
that position. 

99 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Some little time after his marriage Alexander II. sought 
companionship with persons better able to enter into 
his interests and to comprehend his thoughts than the 
Tsarevna, who was too timid and too cold even to attempt 
to exert influence over her husband. Later on when she 
became Empress, and especially after the death of her 
mother-in-law, Alexandra Feodorovna, she began to assert 
herself, but it was too late ; and though the Emperor 
always showed her in public the greatest respect, he had 
become accustomed to live his life without her. Later still, 
when the influence of the Princess Yourievsky became 
stronger, he failed even in the outward marks of deference 
to his Empress. 

So long as Nicholas I. lived, however, the conduct of 
the Tsarevitch in public left nothing to be desired. He 
had flirtations without number, but no one could accuse 
him of having a maitresse en titre. 

One whom he held in high esteem was a daughter of 
the noble house of Dolgorouky, the Princess Alexandra, 
later on to become the wife of General Albedynsky. The 
Princess Alexandra was the daughter of a most clever, 
intriguing mother, who had from the first decided to use 
the beauty of her children as a stepping-stone to their for- 
tunes. The Princess Dolgorouky was at one time a very 
considerable personage in St. Petersburg Society. She was 
clever, unsparing in her criticisms, and she managed to 
inculcate in all her family a spirit of solidarity such as 
one rarely meets with nowadays. This quality enabled 
them to make themselves very prominent people indeed. 
So long as their mother lived she ruled them with a rod 
of iron, and insisted on their coming to her for advice, 
even in the smallest of matters. When she died she had 
seen the fortunes of her numerous children established 
on quite an unassailable footing. 

lOO 



Alexander's Love Affairs 

Her eldest daughter, the Princess Alexandra, helped 
her in that task to the utmost. She was an unusually 
intelligent and at the same time extremely kind woman, 
whose quiet manner and soft low voice impressed others 
most favourably. She was on very friendly terms with 
Alexander II. and was consulted by him on many occa- 
sions when faced with embarrassing questions. She always 
gave her opinion in a fearless, honest way, and considered 
his advantage above everything. She was the instrument 
of her husband's career. He, though an extremely ordinary 
individual, reached the highest dignities, became aide-de- 
camp general and Governor of the Polish provinces. 
Madame Albedynsky reigned a veritable queen in Warsaw 
for a considerable time, where she succeeded in making 
herself liked in spite of the strong prejudices that existed 
there against Russian functionaries. When she became a 
widow, she lived for some years in St. Petersburg, and at 
last settled abroad for the benefit of her health. During 
the whole of Alexander II. 's lifetime, whenever she wanted 
to see him or to speak to him about some important matter, 
she used to drive to the Winter Palace and have herself 
announced by the valet-in-waiting without any further 
ceremony. The Empress herself often had recourse to her 
influence to obtain things that she did not dare to ask 
for herself, and all the entourage of the Sovereign held her 
in awe, but also in esteem. 

Of her three brothers, one — Prince Alexis — settled in 
England, where he married, and is a well-known figure 
in London Society. The eldest. Prince Alexander, wedded 
a rich heiress. Countess Schouvaloff, and died recently, 
having reached the position of Grand Marshal of the 
Imperial Court. He was known to his friends by the 
name of Sandy, and was perhaps the handsomest man of 
his day and a great favourite. His influence was great, 

lOI > 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and he kept in favour through three reigns, and died at 
the zenith of his power. 

His youngest brother, Prince Nicholas, " Nicky/' as 
he was called, was scarcely less handsome than he, and 
enjoyed the special favours of Alexander II. He, too, 
reached the highest dignities. He was for some time 
attached to the person of the German Emperor in Berlin, 
where he did not succeed in making himself liked, was 
sent as Minister to Persia, and later as Ambassador to 
Rome, where he died in April, 191 3. 

Madame Albedynsky had three sisters. They were all 
beautiful, and all of them at one time leaders of the smart 
set of St. Petersburg. The eldest, however, the Countess 
Marguerite Steinbock Fermor, who died not so very long 
ago, had very delicate health, and retired from Society 
after the marriage of her two daughters. The second 
one. Princess Annette, was wedded to perhaps the richest 
man in Russia, Prince Soltykoff, and has recently been 
widowed. She was without doubt one of the loveliest 
women of her time. 

Her sister, the Princess Marie, was also unusually hand- 
some. She, however, had a more eventful life than any 
other member of her family. She was married in her early 
youth to a cousin, also a Prince Dolgorouky, and when 
he died some years afterwards, to Count Benckendorff. 
Her husband was appointed Head of the Household of 
the present Emperor, and she was made a Lady of the 
Order of St. Catherine. So much for having been, as the 
old French proverb says, careful in the choice of one's 
parents. 

But however much Alexander II. might have been in 
love in his early years, he was destined to fall the victim 
to a stronger passion, and one which was to lead him 
upon a path which might have compromised his crown had 

102 



Alexander's Love Affairs 

fate and Ryssakoff's bomb not interfered. I refer to his 
love for the Princess Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, 
whom he was to make his wife after the death of the 
Empress Marie Alexandrovna. 

She and her elder sister were the daughters of Prince 
Michael Dolgorouky, who had been brought up together 
with the sons of the Emperor Nicholas, and who upon 
his death-bed had confided his two girls to the care of 
Alexander II., who had just then ascended the Throne. 
He accepted that charge, and had the little girls sent to 
the Institute of St. Catherine for daughters of the nobility, 
recommending them specially to the Lady Superintendent. 
Now the Sovereign was always fond of visiting the various 
educational establishments of the capital. He liked to 
see children crowding round him, and used to caress them 
as if they were his own little ones. He often called to his 
side the little Dolgorouky girls and examined them as to 
their studies and their doings, and admired them for their 
beauty. At length, when the eldest was eighteen, he 
appointed her one of the maids of honour to the Empress, 
and took her to live at the Winter Palace. 

It was not long before gossip was rife, and it must be 
said in justice to St. Petersburg Society that its sense of 
decency and honour was revolted at this forgetfulness of 
a most sacred trust by the Emperor. Some representations, 
indeed, were made to him upon the subject, amongst others 
by Count Adlerberg and Count Schouvaloff, whose position, 
as Head of the Third Section, brought him in touch with 
all that was being said concerning the Emperor Alexander II. 

About two years afterwards the younger of the Dol- 
gorouky girls, Catherine Michailovna, in her turn appeared 
at the Imperial Court, and her arrival there sounded the 
death-knell of her sister's favour. Prince Mestchersky, an 
aide-de-camp of the Emperor, \vas persuaded to marry 

103 



• 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Mary Dolgorouky. The Emperor gave her a large dowry^ 
and as a wedding present a lovely house on the English 
Quay. 

Prince Mestchersky was killed during the Turkish War, 
and his widow afterwards married the nephew of the 
Viceroy of Poland, Count George Berg, one of the most 
charming men in St. Petersburg Society. She had kept 
upon excellent terms with her sister, and they both settled 
later in Nice, where they lived together in the same villa. 
The Countess Berg died some four or five years ago. 

Princess Catherine Dolgorouky was a tall, fair, placid 
looking person, with lovely blonde hair, a slight figure, 
with unmistakably graceful movements and the best possible 
taste in dress, a quality to which Alexander II. was par- 
ticularly susceptible. Intelligence she had little ; tact even 
less ; but she had enough sense to know that on this road 
which was to lead her towards the Throne of All the 
Russias she needed the help of someone more intelligent 
than herself, and with more knowledge of the world. 
That person she found in a distant cousin, Mademoiselle 
Schebeko. 

The latter was one of those master minds that at once 
recognise the weak as well as the strong sides of every 
position. She directed her batteries with consummate skill 
towards the aim she had in view. She persuaded Catherine 
Michailovna to play the part of the woman capable of 
giving everything up for love, of resigning herself to any 
misfortune, and to any humiliation rather than being parted 
from the man to whom she wanted to devote her life. No 
one could .have played that difficult part better than did 
the Princess, under the guidance of Mademoiselle Schebeko, 
and when it came to asking anything from the Emperor, it 
was always the latter, and never Catherine Michailovna, 
who did so. She used only to accept with astonishment, 

104 



Alexander's Love Affairs 

and with a gratitude that apparently savoured of pain, 
all the presents with which the Emperor loaded her, and 
she always complained that he was doing too much for 
her. 

By and by the two ladies exercised such an influence 
that Ministers began to take it into account and to ask 
themselves where it would lead to. Politics, which at first 
had played no part in the alliance, became a prominent 
matter of discussion, and the Emperor began to meet 
people at the Princess's house whom it was inconvenient 
to receive at the Winter Palace. 

Every afternoon the Emperor used to go and visit 
Catherine Michailovna at the house which belonged to 
the Princess Mestchersky, her sister, and in which she lived 
together with Mile. Schebeko. There he used to spend 
hours, and there it was that the three children of the 
Princess Dolgorouky were born. Their birth only con- 
solidated the ties between the parents. When the Emperor 
travelled to Ems the Princess followed him there, and 
once stayed at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, much to 
the indignation of the Empress Augusta of Germany. 
Later on, when the Nihilist movement became so terribly 
active, and it became unwise for the Emperor to drive 
about in the streets alone, Princess Dolgorouky removed 
with her children to the Winter Palace. Her rooms were 
situated exactly above those of the dying Empress, who lj| 

could hear the clatter of little children's feet over her head. 

When at length Marie Alexandrovna expired, it was 
with no one by her side to close her eyes, save her devoted 
daughter the Duchess of Edinburgh, who had arrived from 
England to be with her mother during the last days of 
her life. Owing to the indignation of the Duchess at the 
presence of the Princess Dolgorouky in the Palace, the 
latter removed to Tsarskoye Selo, whither the Emperor 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

followed her, and where he was still when the Empress 
breathed her last. 

Forty days after the death of the Empress, Alexander II. 
married Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, and created 
her Princess Yourievsky. 

The little popularity which remained to the Emperor 
disappeared after this mad act. St. Petersburg was in- 
censed, and discontent was openly expressed at this out- 
rage on the conventions of life. 

Catherine Michailovna, nevertheless, had her partisans. 
All the Liberal element in the country turned to her, and 
expected through her influence to obtain the promulgation 
of a Constitution. Count Loris Melikoff, M. Abaza, and 
all their friends thought the moment favourable to per- 
suade the Emperor that the time had come when it was 
his duty to put the topstone to the reforms for which his 
reign had been remarkable, by granting the blessings of 
Constitutional government. They explained to him that 
such a measure would do away with the discontent that 
his marriage had raised, that the nation would bless the 
woman to whose influence liberty had been given to it, 
and would see with pleasure that woman raised to the 
rank of Empress. 

Among the Imperial Family discontent prevailed. The 
Heir to the Throne and his wife openly put themselves at 
the head of the party of those who repudiated every possi- 
bility of a further triumph of Catherine Michailovna. They 
had to see her every Sunday at mass, where she appeared 
and stood near the Emperor, in the chapel of the Winter 
Palace, but beyond that official meeting they paid no 
attention to her. The Emperor was furious, and in his 
turn began to be as unpleasant as he possibly could towards 
his children and his family ; and it is matter for surmise 
whether a revolution of a different character would not 

io6 



Alexander's Love Affairs 

have taken place had not the tragic event of March ist 
destroyed the hopes of those who had played their last card 
on the strength of a woman's influence. 

Count Loris Melikoff was the staunchest friend of the 
Princess Yourievsky. He it was who advised and encouraged 
her to persuade the Emperor to enter upon the road to 
the most important of all the reforms of his reign. He 
it was who told the Sovereign that Russia would admire 
his courage in raising to the Throne an Empress who was 
a Russian, and thus following the example set by the old 
rulers of Muscovy, who had looked for wives among the 
daughters of their great nobles. He it was who had already 
issued orders for the coronation of the wife of Alexander II. 
in the Cathedral of the Assumption at Moscow, after the 
first anniversary of the death of the Empress Marie Alexan- 
drovna had passed. 

But alas for human wishes and human plans ! Sophie 
Perovska and Ryssakoff took upon themselves the solution 
of the problem that had agitated so many minds, and with 
the murder of Alexander II. the ambitions of his second 
wife were extinguished. 

The new Sovereign showed infinite tact in his relations 
with his father's morganatic widow. All the wrongs which 
he had suffered at her hands were in appearance forgotten 
by him. He paid her an official visit of condolence, had 
a beautiful house bought for her to retire to, after she 
had left the Winter Palace, and settled an enormous allow- 
ance upon her and her children. If ever the *' Vanity of 
Vanities " of the Preacher was exemphfied in human 
life, it is in that of Catherine Michailovna Dolgorouky, 
Princess Yourievsky, who but for an unforeseen crime 
would have had the crown of a Russian Empress placed 
upon her brov/. 



107 



CHAPTER XI 

ASSASSINATION OF ALEXANDER II. 

Begun so brilliantly, the reign of Alexander II. ended in 
sorrow and sadness. All the bright hopes which had 
greeted it had been shattered, and the love of his people 
for the person of the Emperor was shattered too. It was 
realised that he was a disappointed, vindictive man, more 
irresolute even than he had been in his youth, and who 
whilst always wanting much from others, yet gave too 
little himself, or even took back what he had already 
granted. His reign had not given satisfaction to a single 
party, nor quieted any discontent. It was evident every- 
where that after a whole quarter of a century had passed 
nothing useful had been done, and that everything would 
have to be begun over again. The old fear of offending the 
Sovereign which had formerly existed in Russia had van- 
ished, and unfortunately the respect for his person was gone 
too. People, moreover, had got into the habit of discussing, 
and had forgotten how to work, and for a nation there is 
nothing worse than unnecessary or idle discussions. 

After several attempts upon his life had followed in 
quick succession, Alexander II. became more and more 
disgusted— and in a certain sense rightly so — ^at what he 
considered ingratitude against himself, and against the 
good intentions with which he had ascended the Throne. 
He knew quite well that mistakes without number had 
been made, but he could not determine exactly what these 
mistakes were. He called one person after another to 

io8 



Assassination of Alexander 11. 

explain to him what ought to be done to repair these mis- 
takes, but no one could tell him anything definite or seriously 
worth listening to. On the one hand, the Conservative 
party was urging him to return to the old system of re- 
pression under which Russia had been great and peaceful, 
and, on the other, minds more clear and more imbued with 
Occidental ideas of Government told him that it was im- 
possible to go back on the road upon which he had entered, 
and that the country would only be restored to order 
when it should be given a share in its administration. 

Political and Court intrigues surrounded the unfortunate 
monarch. His wife, who hoped to obtain from the Liberal 
party the recognition of that title and dignity of Empress 
after which her whole soul hungered, used to explain to him 
that if he granted a Constitution, Nihilism would disappear, 
robbed of its very raison d'etre, and that at least his life 
would be safe. On the other hand, he was well aware that 
his son and successor, who would be called upon to bear 
the brunt of any false step which he might make, strongly 
disapproved of any concession to what he called " the 
exigencies of the mob." Feeling, perhaps, that his da}^ 
were numbered, he hesitated to saddle his inheritance with 
new difficulties and new duties. But at length, as is usually 
the case, feminine influence conquered, and Alexander 
ordered Count Loris Melikoff to draw up a scheme for a 
Constitution. 

Count Loris, by one of those freaks of Imperial favour 
which can only happen in Russia, had found himself one 
fine day the foremost man in the country and a veritable 
dictator, without having done an^i:hing to justify that 
appointment. He was an Armenian by birth, who had 
distinguished himself during the Turkish War. He was a 
favourite of the Grand Duke Michael, the Emperor's youngest 
brother, who had reconunended him to the Sovereign 

109 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

as a capable and energetic man. Later on he had been 
sent to the Government of Astrakhan when the plague 
broke out there, and had succeeded in quieting an exasper- 
ated mob. This success had created the impression that 
he was a resolute character who would show no hesitation 
in fulfilling his duties or executing whatever orders he 
received. But, as is usual in Russia, where one puts a 
man d toute sauce, and believes that if he can sweep a room 
well he can also furnish it, and that one can transform 
a servant into a statesman, he had not one of the capacities 
indispensable to the position to which he had been raised. 
He had all the qualities of his race, a spirit of intrigue, 
acuteness, and a finesse that did not hesitate at the means 
to be employed, or the wilful disguising of the truth. He 
began by promising all kinds of things which he could not 
perform, and with that shrewdness which is a character- 
istic of the Oriental mind, he thought that by simple 
diplomacy he could appease the revolutionary movement in 
the country, completely overlooking the fact that it was 
anarchical, and that the shedding of blood was the only 
solution which it believed to be acceptable, and with which 
it would content itself. 

Loris Melikoff knew very well that he was intensely dis- 
liked by a certain portion of Society, as well as by the 
party that was headed by the Heir to the Throne. He had 
even at the time of his greatest favour felt himself to be 
in an insecure position ; and when he heard applied to 
himself that odious expression wremientschik (i.e. favourite 
of the moment), which from time immemorial in Russia 
has designated the temporary favourites of the Tsars, he 
could not honestly think that it was misapplied in his 
case. He therefore sought to make friends with the one 
person whose protection could help him in case of need 
— the Princess Yourievsky. Thus, from the union of 

no 



Assassination of Alexander 11. 

these two interests, that of an ambitious, vain woman and 
of a grasping, clever, and cunning man, came the scheme 
upon which the v/elfare of the nation so much depended. 

In view of these facts, one must consign to the Umbo 
of fables the rumour that at one time was universally be- 
lieved, that Count Loris had asked the Princess Yourievsky 
to persuade the Emperor not to go out on that fatal Sunday, 
March ist. In view of the importance of the events then 
impending, it is more than likely that had the Minister 
really suspected danger of any kind he would not only have 
taken measures to prevent it, but also that his warning 
would not have been disregarded, either by Alexander II. 
or by his wife. 

The latter was quiet and content. She was beginning 
to feel the ground firmer under her feet. The violent 
outcry raised at the time of her marriage had begun to 
subside. The Emperor had tried to bring her into contact 
with several people belonging to the most select Society 
of the capital. Ladies had still been chary of meeting 
the Princess, but men, who could not very well refuse 
Imperial invitations, had been asked to dine with the 
Sovereign and his wife. For her part, she was beginning 
to practise her role as Empress, and, thanks to the advice 
of her cousin, Mademoiselle Schebeko, she was performing 
it with tact and discretion. 

On the eve of the day which proved to be his last, the 
Emperor had had a few friends to dinner, among whom 
were old Admiral Heyden and M. Abaza, Minister of Finance 
at the time. The party had been kept up until a late 
hour, and Alexander had told his guests that the next 
morning, after the usual Sunday review, he was going to 
lunch with his cousin, the Grand Duchess Catherine. He 
told M. Abaza to come to him in a day or two to discuss 
together with Count Loris several points of the manifesto 

III 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

which he was going to issue to the nation. Princess 
Yourievsky advised him not to tire himself, as he had been 
suffering from a slight cold. He put his hand caressingly 
upon her shoulders, and said in French to his guests : 
" Vous le voyez, messieurs, je dots obeir, et me retirer.'' They 
were the last words which these two were ever to hear 
from him. 

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. The 
Emperor, as usual, attended mass in the private chapel 
of the Winter Palace. His children were all there, save 
the wife of the Grand Duke Vladimir, who, being a Pro- 
testant at that time, did not attend the Greek services. 
It was noticed that when the Tsarevna came up to her 
father-in-law to take leave of him after mass was over, 
he rudely thrust her aside with the words ** Dites done adieu 
a la Princesse," and he indicated the Princess Yourievsky. 
The Heiress to the Throne made a profound curtsey to the 
Sovereign and silently withdrew, after merely bending her 
proud little head in the direction of Alexander II /s mor- 
ganatic wile. 

This angered the Emperor, and it was afterwards 
remarked that during the review, which took place 
every Sunday in the riding school known as the " Manege 
Michel," he appeared in a bad temper and spoke but little. 
However, he drove to luncheon with his cousin, and there 
seemed to recover his spirits, remaining with her longer 
than was his wont. 

In consequence of the numerous attempts that had 
been made against his life, the Emperor was always escorted 
on his drives by a squadron of Cossacks, and, as a further 
precaution, the head of the St. Petersburg police— at that 
time General Dvorgetsky — drove in advance in an open 
droschky on the fatal Sunday. The close carriage in which 
Alexander II. was sitting was driven by an old and trusted 

112 



Assassination of Alexander 11. 

coachman, and upon leaving the palace of the Grand 
Duchess Catherine — since converted into the Emperor 
Alexander III. Museum — ^he took the road by the canal 
that leads to the Nevski Prospekt and to the Winter 
Palace. The carriage had scarcely turned into it when a 
shot was fired and a bomb exploded in front of the vehicle. 
A terrible moment of confusion followed, several Cossacks 
were seen to fall from their horses, and the droschky in which 
the Head of the Police was riding was overturned, the 
General himself being thrown wounded upon the road. Alex- 
ander commanded his coachman to stop. The latter begged 
and implored him to allow him to go on, swearing that 
he would take him in safety to the Palace ; but the Emperor 
would not hear of it, and got out to see after the wounded 
members of his escort. Some passers-by had noticed that 
a young man was standing on the ice on the canal with 
something in his hand ; they threw themselves upon 
him. It proved to be Ryssakoff who had thrown the 
first bomb. 

He was led before the Sovereign, and then uttered these 
memorable words, which ought to have been taken more 
seriously than they were by the listeners. The Emperor, 
in reply to an anxious question of one of the officers of 
his escort as to whether or not he was hurt, had said, " No, 
thanks be given to God," when Ryssakoff exclaimed, 
" It is too early yet to say 'thank God.'" 

At that very moment the second explosion took place, 
and Alexander II. fell mortally wounded. 

He was taken back, still alive, to the Winter Palace, 
followed by his brother, the Grand Duke Michael, who had 
also lunched with the Grand Duchess Catherine, and, hear- 
ing the first explosion, had hastened out with the presenti- 
ment of a misfortune. He arrived upon the terrible scene 
too late to see anything else but the bloody body of the 
I 113 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Emperor, and to hear his last words, " Take me to the 
Palace ... to die there." 

Two hours later the doors of the dead Tsar's rooms 
were thrown open, and the new Sovereign came out, with 
his Consort leaning on his arm. He gravely saluted the 
members of the Household and military authorities that 
had hastily gathered there, and passed into an inner room 
to give vent to the emotion that was overpowering him. 

His brothers and uncles followed him, and a few hasty 
resolutions were taken. The troops of the St. Petersburg 
garrison were ordered at once to swear fidelity to the new 
Emperor. Count Loris, despairing and silent, was simply 
wringing his hands, and by the body of the murdered 
man remained only the Princess Yourievsky, weeping and 
despairing, and his faithful valet, who was tearing his 
hair in his grief. 

At that moment Mademoiselle Schebeko approached 
Catherine Michailovna. 

*' The manifesto," she said ; " where is it ? Have you 
taken it ? It is already signed, and it may be of use." 

The Princess rushed to the writing-table which was in 
the room where the dead body of the Emperor was lying. 
With a trembling hand she was about to open the drawer 
when, upon the threshold, appeared the huge figure of 
the Grand Duke Vladimir, the eldest brother of the new 
Sovereign. He slowly went up to his stepmother and 
took the key from her hands ; he turned the lock, and 
then in courteous tones asked her to leave the room whilst 
the last duties were rendered to the remains of the mur- 
dered monarch. 

That same night a conference was held between Alex- 
ander HI., his two eldest brothers, and one trusted adviser 
in whom the Emperor had the utmost confidence ; then, 

beside the body of his murdered father, he opened the 

114 



Assassination of Alexander 11. 

drawer which had attracted the Princess Yourievsky, and 
took out the topmost document. It was the manifesto 
granting the Constitution of which people had talked for 
so long a time. He was going to read it, when the friend 
to whom I have referred approached him, and, taking the 
document from his hands, tore it into a thousand fragments. 

" Now, your Majesty," said he, " you can punish me, 
but at least it cannot be said that you stepped upon the 
Throne of Russia with tied hands." 

Thus began the reign of Alexander III. 



«>S 



CHAPTER XII 

ALEXANDER III. AND HIS CONSORT 

The Empress Marie Alexandrovna had been heard to say, 
during the last years of her life, that she bitterly repented 
of having allowed herself to be entirely absorbed by her 
affection for her eldest son to the detriment of her other 
children, and that God had punished her for it by taking 
that son away from her. There was a certain amount 
of truth in the remark, for it is an unmistakable fact that 
the care and attention bestowed upon the Grand Duke 
Nicholas Alexandrovitch had not been given either to the 
education or training of his brothers. The Grand Duke 
Alexander had felt this very much when he became un- 
expectedly the Heir to the Throne, and suffered from it 
in proportion to his extreme sense of duty to his country. 
He was in his own odd way a most remarkable man ; 
not brilliant by any means, perhaps not even clever, but 
extremely intelligent, and gifted with a sound common 
sense that made him rarely commit mistakes in important 
questions. He had tried as much as he could to perfect 
his defective education, and had studied as much as his 
military duties would allow him, when he found himself 
faced with new duties and future grave responsibilities. 
His greatest quality was frankness, united with an honesty 
such as is rarely met with. Once he had given his word, 
nothing could make him break it. He was a great patriot, 
and " All for Russia " became his motto. He differed from 
his father in that he always knew what he wanted, and 

ii6 



Alexander III. and his Consort 

never hesitated in doing what he considered to be right. 
He asked his Ministers to tell him the truth even in cases 
where it might be unpalatable, and he realised that there 
was yet time for a strong hand to save Russia from the 
chaos into which she had fallen. That strong hand he 
possessed, and he used it with tact and kindness, but with 
a perfect understanding as to the needs of the country 
and the necessity for replacing the indecisions of yesterday 
by the firmness of to-day. i 

He did not often speak in public, but whenever he was 
compelled to do so it was to the point, in a few short words 
that never left any doubt as to their meaning. His 
address to the peasants gathered in Moscow on the occa- 
sion of his Coronation was a notable example of his direct- 
ness of utterance, and it at once disposed of the rumours 
spread by the anarchists that the Sovereign contemplated 
taking away lands from the nobles to distribute them to 
the peasantry. Alexander III. distinctly explained to the 
representatives of the rural classes that he would never 
sanction such spoliation, and that he meant to have the 
rights of property respected above everything. After 
that, everything was quiet, and the danger of an insur- 
rection of the peasantry was entirely averted. 

The nation got to love the simple, earnest, quiet, con- 
scientious man, who never forgot the duties that Providence 
had put before him, and who tried in all humility to be 
the father of his people. His views on politics and govern- 
ment were straightforward, as his whole character was 
straightforward. He read every document that was brought 
for his signature ; he tried to understand it, and when 
he did not succeed, then he had it explained to him by 
responsible people. 

When he ascended the Throne, it was with a deep sense 
of the horrors of war, born of his experiences in the 

117 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Balkans, where he had commanded an army corps and 
seen the sufferings of the soldiers as well as the mistakes 
of the officers. His first thought, when he found himself 
in a position to realise his plans, was to work at the re- 
organisation of the Army, to ameliorate the conditions of 
the soldier, and to try to develop the industries and 
trade of Russia. He had a programme of his own, and 
he meant to be master, and to do what he himself considered 
to be right. Strong as was his character, it was devoid of 
vindictiveness and obstinacy. He brought his common 
sense to bear on decisions he gave, and it rarely failed him. 
He succeeded in making Russia a great nation, feared 
and respected by all, and that without the firing of a single 
shot during the thirteen years that he occupied the Throne. 

He believed in autocracy, but was not an autocrat by 
nature. With all his unusual strength of character, he 
had no tendency to tjrranny, and he made himself feared 
simply because everybody knew that what he meant to do 
he would do, and that thoroughly and well. 

His children adored him, and all who approached him 
professed for him a feeling akin to reverence. Everybody 
believed in his justice, and though during his reign Nihilism 
was entirely crushed, yet very few were those who suffered 
for their political opinions. After the leaders of the con- 
spiracy that led to the murder of the Emperor Alexander II. 
had paid the penalty of their crime, the execution of political 
offenders — ^that had been almost a daily occurrence during 
the former reign — ^was not heard of. 

Alexander III. was essentially Russian. Sometimes he 
called himself in jest the " first moujik '* of his empire. 
He had something of the strength of the moujik in his 
appearance, which was commanding, but exceedingly good- 
natured. He had also the simplicity of the moujik, and 
his humble faith in God and the Saints. The Emperor 

]i8 



Alexander III. and his Consort 

was a great believer, and his trust in Divine Providence 
was sincere and touching in the extreme. 

Strange as it may appear, there was a time, when he 
was still Heir to the Throne, when Alexander III. held Liberal 
tendencies, of which he did not care to be reminded in after 
life. A curious anecdote throws a light on that side of 
his character. The celebrated Russian historian, Bil- 
bassoff, whose work on the life and reign of the Empress 
Catherine II. has become a classic, began his career as 
Professor at the University of Kieff. The authorities 
noticed that he entertained close relations with some Polish 
noblemen known for their anti-Russian opinions, and he 
was forced to resign his position. He then came to St, 
Petersburg and became editor of the Golos. It was owing: 
to his efforts and to the relations which he entertained 
with Count Loris Melikoff and with the Heir to the Throne,, 
that the paper, which later on was suppressed by the orders> 
of Count Tolstoy, became so famous. When its existence 
was threatened, Bilbassoff, fearing that his own positions 
would be compromised, wrote to the Emperor Alexander 
III. to ask his protection, and in his letter used the phrase : 
" I have had until now the happiness of enjoying the 
favour of Your Majesty." The Tsar returned the letter 
to Count Woronzoff, after having written in pencil across 
it : " Unfortunately this is true." 

I have already referred to his early romance and his 
subsequent marriage with the Princess Dagmar of Den- 
mark. The patience, the grace, the winning nature, and 
the many endearing qualities of the young Grand Duchess 
did their work, and conquered the heart of her spouse, 
until he came to love her with all the strength of affection 
that was in him, to trust her entirely, and to find in her not 
only a devoted companion, but also a wise counsellor and a 
true friend in the difficult and serious moments in his life. 

iig 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Marie Feodorovna was once called by the Emperor " the 
Guardian Angel of Russia," and in that, as in everything 
else, he spoke the truth. Few queens have grasped to the 
extent which she did a queen's power of doing good. Few 
have possessed her gift of mercy and the desire to be 
merciful and kind. No prayer found her indifferent, no 
misery was brought to her notice without being instantly 
relieved. Her lovely smile, the gentle look of her eyes — 
those great, luminous black eyes, that seemed to read into 
one's very soul — ^brought more friends to her husband than 
millions spent, or years of effort, would have done. When- 
ever she appeared, whether it were in a ball-room surrounded 
by Imperial pomp and adorned with the Crown jewels, or 
in a humble cottage, wherever one saw her, she took with 
her light and joy and consolation. Unceasing were her 
efforts in the cause of charity, innumerable the evils she 
contrived to repair, and the good deeds she performed, all 
without ostentation, and moved thereto by the gentleness 
and sweetness of her charming nature. As wife and mother, 
as Empress and woman, Marie Feodorovna was an example 
to aU. From the heights of the Throne upon which she sat 
with such dignity, she instilled into the Russian nation a 
respect for the private life of its Sovereigns that hitherto 
had been unknown. Political influence over the Emperor 
she possessed to an enormous extent, and yet no one ever 
guessed it, so cleverly did she hide from the world that 
she ever mixed up with politics. 

The Empress was intensely fond of society and of 
dancing and pretty dresses. Alexander III. hated parties, 
but, desirous to please his wife, he not only good-humouredly 
consented to her giving all the balls she wished during the 
winter season, but also accompanied her to receptions 
given in their honour by various hostesses in St. Peters- 
burg. Marie Feodorovna danced to her heart's content, 

1 20 



Alexander III. and his Consort 

and by going about in this way not only imparted animation 
to the season, but also helped to make the Sovereigns 
popular and acquainted with Society. I have never seen a 
prettier sight than a ball at the Winter Palace during those 
years, with the crowd of lovely women, the glitter of mag- 
nificent jewels, the artistic gowns, and, above all, the enjoy- 
ment that was visible everywhere. 

The Emperor used to play a rubber of whist whilst his 
consort was waltzing or going through a quadrille. Some- 
times, when the hour was late, he would quietly order the 
musicians to leave one by one, until there remained but 
one to play a last tune ; then the Empress, laughingly 
remarking that it was time to go to bed, took leave of her 
guests. 



T2T 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN 1881 

At the time of the accession of Alexander III. the Imperial 
family consisted of his uncles — ^to whom I have already 
referred, and who, with the exception of the Grand Duke 
Michael Nicolaievich, were to disappear entirely from both 
the political and social horizons of St. Petersburg — and of 
his four brothers and only sister the Duchess of Edinburgh. 
I do not mention the Grand Duchess Catherine and her 
children, nor the Leuchtenberg and Oldenburg families, 
as they were more distantly related to the new Sovereign. 
The children of the Emperor's uncles were too young at 
the time to be of any importance, but his brothers were 
to give him more trouble than he expected. 

The Grand Duke Vladimir, who was the eldest, had 
always, even when he was a mere boy, been considered 
the most intelligent member of the Imperial Family, thanks 
to an impudent pertness which prompted him to put in 
his word upon every possible occasion. He was un- 
doubtedly clever, with that cleverness which consists in ap- 
propriating other people's ideas or repeating other people's 
words as if they were one's own ; but at the same time he 
was in reality very ignorant, ambitious, and intriguing. 
His memory was good, his wit and conversation brilliant, 
but it was all superficial, and he was a perfect illustration 
of the old proverb " Grattez le russe," etc. He was con- 
sidered to be possessed of a forceful character, whilst he 
was only brutal, as being empressS and galant, towards 

122 



The Imperial Family in 1881 

women, whilst he was nothing but vicious. He had 
mastered one of the secrets of success nowadays, the art 
of self-advertisement, and he never missed an opportunity 
to apply it. 

At the same time the Grand Duke Vladimir was capable 
of generous actions, especially when the honour of his 
ancestors was in question. As an example of this fact, I 
mention the following : When Count Adlerberg had to 
retire from his position as Minister of the Imperial House- 
hold, he was heavily burdened with debts. Alexander III. 
would not agree to do anything for him. A friend of the 
Count's, whose position enabled him to approach the 
members of the Imperial Family, went to Vladimir Alexan- 
drovitch and asked him to speak to the Emperor, and 
to plead the cause of Count Adlerberg, adding that the 
Count had rendered such important services to Alexander II. 
that he ought not to be left in the precarious position brought 
about by his dismissal from office. The Grand Duke 
instantly replied that not only would he speak with the 
Emperor, but that if the latter refused to grant his petition 
he would pay the debts himself, and induce his other brothers 
to help him do so. The debts were eventually paid out of 
the private purse of the Sovereign. 

When his father was murdered, and the Grand Duke 
Vladimir saw his eldest brother, who in the schoolroom 
had always been under his influence, step to the Throne, 
he at first imagined he could go on leading him, and become 
thus in reality the first man in the Empire. He less than 
anyone expected that Alexander III. would suddenly 
develop a spirit of independence and shake off the bonds 
of diffidence. In the first moment of confusion, after 
Alexander II. was brought back dying to the Winter Palace, 
the Grand Duke Vladimir assumed a certain authority and 
issued directions concerning the immediate swearing-in to 

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Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the new Sovereign of the troops of the St. Petersburg 
garrison, of whom he was the commander ; he retained 
his presence of mind in that trying hour to a remarkable 
degree, whilst his brother, overcome by the sudden burden 
so unexpectedly thrown upon his shoulders, sat quite 
overwhelmed and unable to think of anything else but 
grief for his father's death. 

A change soon occurred, however. On the evening of 
that same eventful March ist, Alexander III. returned 
to the Anitchkov Palace — ^where he continued to reside 
until the end of his life — in an open sledge, with the young 
Empress sitting by his side, and without any escort. An 
immense and respectful crowd greeted him and lined the 
whole way. Scarcely a shout was raised, and a grim earnest- 
ness pervaded this first meeting of the new Tsar and his 
people, but there were few dry eyes among those who 
watched the scene. 

At the Anitchkov Palace all his household was waiting 
for him in the hall, and an old valet, who had attended 
the Tsar from his babyhood, presented him with the tradi- 
tional bread and salt which is always offered in Russia upon 
such occasions, and asked him in a few broken words to 
be the " Little Father " of his people. Alexander's blue 
eyes kindled with a hitherto unknown light, and he gravely 
replied, " Yes, I will try to be the father of my people." 

The very next day he started upon that task. When 
he appeared in the chapel of the Winter Palace, and stood 
in front of his brothers, he did so with all the air of a 
Sovereign of long standing, and not of one of yesterday, 
and he issued his orders with a quietness and comprehen- 
sion of what he wanted that astonished everyone, and 
no one more so than the Grand Duke Vladimir. 

The Grand Duke endeavoured to resist this unexpected 
independence of Alexander III., and even went so far as 

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The Imperial Family in 1881 

to oppose him in certain dispositions he had made. The 
Emperor looked at him, and merely said, " I want this done 
in the way I have said." That was all ; but from that 
moment none of the Grand Dukes attempted to contest 
the will of the Emperor. 

In a measure, that will was opposed to them. The 
young Sovereign had been witness during the war of 1877 
of many abuses and mistakes committed by his uncles, 
and he had made up his mind to raise a barrier between 
the Grand Dukes and the affairs of the State. He held 
the Oriental idea that the younger members of every Royal 
House are the first to dispute its authority and rise in 
rebellion against it, so he decided to keep his relations 
strictly in their place, and to make them feel that they 
had above them an authority it was not wise to thwart. 

This infuriated the members of the Imperial Family, 
but none more so than the Grand Duke Vladimir and his 
wife, who from that moment started a policy of opposition 
to the Government, and especially to the Sovereign and 
his wife, to whose influence they ascribed the many un- 
pleasantnesses that became their portion. The first of 
these was the issue of a new Family Statute which con- 
siderably reduced the rights and income of the relations 
of the Emperor — one of the first acts of his reign. 

The Grand Duchess Vladimir, by birth a princess of 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was thoroughly German in tastes, 
and entirely devoted to German interests. She was not 
popular in Russia, partly on account of her having refused 
to enter the Greek Church, as until then had been the rule 
for all princesses who married into the Imperial Family. 
At the present day the matter would not be deemed of 
importance, but in 1874, when the Empress Marie Alexan- 
drovna was still alive, the question was a burning one. 

The Grand Duke Alexis was a very different man from 

T25 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

his brother. A bon vivant, fond of cards, wine, and women, 
he had nevertheless more tenue, more earnestness, and 
especially a greater indifference to the actions of others. 
In his early youth he had fallen in love with the daughter 
of his father's tutor, and he had married her in defiance of 
the Emperor's orders, though the marriage was subse- 
quently annulled. The Grand Duke, however, did not 
again contract the marriage tie. 

At the outbreak of the Japanese War the Grand Duke 
Alexis was Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, an appoint- 
ment he received from his brother the late Emperor, 
and it was publicly said that he had no control whatever 
over the department of which he was head. Though it is 
certain that carelessness may be imputed to him, he can- 
not, I think, be held altogether liable for the disaster of 
Tsushima. His hands also had been tied, and the Navy, like 
the Army, was no more ready in 1904 than it had been ten 
years earlier, at the time of the Emperor Alexander's death. 

The Grand Duke was an extremely handsome man, with 
a great likeness to his brother the Emperor ; he had 
dignity when he liked, was a great admirer of art in every 
form or shape, and had made a remarkable collection of 
old silver, tapestries, and other articles. His greatest 
failing was that terrible love de faire la noce that so many 
Russians possess. But when necessary he could put on 
his grandest airs, and could represent his country to per- 
fection when called upon to do so on State occasions. He 
was fond of reading, and knew his classics well. 

The Grand Duke Sergius, almost immediately after his 
father's death, married his cousin, the lovely Princess 
Elizabeth of Hesse, and became a person of importance 
when his nephew, the present Emperor, ascended the Throne, 
in view of the fact of his having married the sister of the 
new Empress. But even during his brother's lifetime he 

126 



The Imperial Family in 1881 

acquired more importance than other Grand Dukes, through 
his appointment as Governor-General of Moscow. That 
appointment was due to the dismissal of Prince Dolgorouky, 
who had held the post for more than forty years, and was 
so popular that it was feared his removal would excite the 
anger of the ancient capital, already too disposed to look 
askance at everything that came from St. Petersburg. In 
the hope of making some measure of atonement for the 
removal of their beloved Governor, it was decided to 
replace him with a member of the Imperial House, and 
as just about that time the Grand Duchess Elizabeth had 
declared her conversion to the Greek faith, it was thought 
that this appointment would appease the Muscovites. 

The plan was good, and it succeeded so far as Elizabeth 
Feodorovna was concerned. She very soon endeared her- 
self to all classes in Moscow, but with regard to the Grand 
Duke it was another matter. In Society he was a very 
charming man, cultured, clever, and of all the sons of 
Alexander II. he was the one who was most like his father. 
Unfortunately, however, he was under the influence of 
ofiftcials who abused their power, and he was called upon 
to execute measures — such as the expulsion of the Jews 
from Moscow — ^for which he was not responsible, but 
which brought him into unpopularity with a very powerful 
party. 

The Leuchtenberg family was composed of the three 
sons of the Grand Duchess Marie Nicolaievna and her two 
daughters. The elder daughter had married a Prince of 
Baden, and paid but rare visits to Russia ; the second. 
Princess Eugenie, was wedded to Prince Alexander of 
Oldenburg, and was one of the most cultured and amiable 
women that could be met with. She was a universal 
favourite. Her salon, where a few chosen friends used 
to meet, was a centre of literary, philanthropical, and 

127 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

scientific activity from which charity was not excluded, for 
it is due in part to the initiative of the Princess Eugenie 
that the Red Cross Society has been developed in Russia 
and established with such perfection. She was a very 
learned woman, and one who kept herself constantly au 
courant with every manifestation of science or art in the 
world. She did not go out much, partly through delicate 
health, but she liked entertaining in a quiet way at home, 
and was intensely popular. Her husband. Prince Alexander, 
was also a clever man, who in all questions of education 
followed in the footsteps of his father, the late Prince 
Peter of Oldenburg. 

As for the Grand Duchess Catherine, she was a lady 
of the old type, who had endeavoured to sustain the salon 
of her mother, the Grand Duchesr Hel^ne Pavlovna, but 
she had not the latter 's activity of mind or spirit, and her 
parties were extremely dull. Nevertheless she was a 
personality, and one felt oneself in a royal atmosphere 
the moment one had passed her doorstep, and when she 
died a whole epoch was buried with her. 

The Duchess of Edinburgh, the only daughter of 
Alexander II., in spite of her marriage and the years which 
she spent away from Russia, retains her affection for the 
land of her birth to a remarkable degree. She v/as, and 
is, in a way a very remarkable person, clever without being 
brilliant, extremely well read, and gifted with a strong 
amount of common sense. She was her father's favourite 
child, and an amusing story is related of her childish days. 
The little girl was, it must be owned, indolent by nature, 
and tried by every means possible to avoid her lessons. 
In order to escape from these she used to run into the 
Emperor's room even whilst he was working with his 
Ministers. He loved the child, and, taking her on his 
knee, would keep her there. At last the Countess Tolstoy, 

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The Imperial Family in 1881 

who was entrusted with the education of the Grand Duchess, 
seeing that she could do nothing, spoke to the Empress, 
who begged her husband to send Marie Alexandrovna 
away when she invaded his room. This was done, very 
much to the sorrow of the spoilt child. 

Countess Tolstoy was the best person who could have 
been chosen to guide the education of the Emperor's 
daughter. She was kind in the extreme, just, and abso- 
lutely unselfish. She knew how to appeal to the best 
instincts of her pupil, and inspired her with a strict feeling 
of duty, compassion for the miseries of the world, truth, 
soundness of judgment, and love of occupation, which 
was perhaps the greatest triumph of all, as she had in 
her nature the laziness inherent to the Romanoff family. 
The present Dowager Duchess of Coburg never forgot her 
old teacher, and so long as the latter lived used to go and 
see her every day whenever she went to St. Petersburg. 
Gratitude was amongst the qualities which the latter had 
taught her. 

Marie Alexandrovna remained upon good terms with 
all her family, and especially with the Dowager Empress 
Marie Feodorovna. She is full of tact, a really great lady, 
and a princess of the old school, with whom allegiance to 
the head of one's House is considered a paramount duty. 



129 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE FRIENDS AND MINISTERS OF ALEXANDER III 

One of the foremost qualities in the character of Alex- 
ander III. was that of knowing how to choose his friends. 
Of all whom he honoured with his confidence, or called 
upon to share with him the burden of government, few 
turned out to be failures, and perhaps with one exception 
all were gentlemen and men of honour. He held that 
those who came of good stock, with honourable ancestors, 
and who belonged to the upper classes, ought to be 
employed in preference to any others, and though of course 
there were some exceptions to this rule he had laid out 
for himself, still among his personal and private friends 
there was not one who could not boast of a name well 
known in the annals of the Russian nobility. 

That nobility was the object of the Emperor's special 
care ; he viewed with distaste that rising tide of democracy 
which during the last years of his father's reign had in- 
vaded all departments of the Government. He was in- 
dignant, too, at the evident decline of the good old Russian 
dvoranstvo, or nobility, which had followed upon the 
emancipation of the serfs, and he did all in his power to 
raise it from its fallen state. His creation of a bank for 
the nobility was a great scheme, which averted disaster 
from hundreds of homes which, but for it, would have 
fallen under the hammer of the auctioneer. He refused, 
whenever it was possible, to invest with Court dignities 
men who did not belong to the old and well-known families. 

130 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

In a word, " // proUgeait la noblesse seulement," as was 
once said by one of his detractors, who was stopped by 
the lady in whose house this was told, just as he was 
going to add, " et au detriment des autres classes," which 
would have been entirely untrue. Before his accession 
the Emperor had not many friends, but his position then 
had been rather peculiar. He knew he was suspected by 
his father of entertaining political views opposed to those 
of his advisers, and, always respectful of his father's wishes, 
he had refrained from any active expression of opinion, 
and tried to avoid any appearance of opposition to the 
official party. His one great personal friend was Count 
Woronzoff Dachkoff, who, as soon as Alexander as- 
cended the Throne, was to replace Count Adlerberg as 
Minister of the Imperial Household. 

Count Woronzoff belonged to one of the oldest families 
in Russia, whose name was written almost upon every 
page of its history. He was enormously rich, perfectly 
independent, not a mere courtier, but a man who had the 
courage to say what he considered to be right, and never 
to hide the truth from his Sovereign. His reputation was 
blameless, and his moral character stood so high that no 
one even dared to question it. Though his qualifications 
as a statesman were not great, his sound common sense 
— so greatly appreciated by the Emperor because it tallied 
with his own — never allowed him to go far wrong. In 
all the high posts which he occupied, he always showed 
himself to be a real grand seigneur of the old school, in- 
capable of a mean action or of petty revenge. His nature 
was indolent, his love of his own comfort perhaps excessive, 
his indifference to praise or blame sometimes carried too 
far ; but he was the best friend a well-intentioned, straight 
forward monarch could have had. 

Count Woronzoff was a perfect man of the world, with 

III 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

a rare tact and most polished manners. He sincerely 
loved the Emperor, and his devotion to him was unbounded 
and has never been questioned. He remained at the 
head of the Imperial Household the whole time Alex- 
ander III. reigned. In that delicate position he had some- 
times to run counter to members of the Imperial Family, 
who became incensed at the authority with which, in the 
Emperor's name, he reproved them. He seldom went 
into Society, living for the most part at home in his own 
family circle ; but whenever he visited he was always 
welcomed with respect and eagerness — an eagerness due 
not so much to his position, as might have been suspected, 
but to his own personality. 

After the Coronation of the present Tsar, Count Woron- 
zoff retired from his position of Minister of the Household 
— a step upon which he had decided when x\lexander III. 
died. Soon afterwards he was appointed Viceroy of the 
Caucasian provinces, an office which he still holds. He 
is very much liked in Tiflis, and though some criticise him 
for lack of energy, yet it is very much to be questioned 
whether anyone else could or would have displayed more, 
and it is certain that if he retired scarcely anyone would 
be found in the whole of Russia who could replace him. 

Count Woronzoff married the Countess Schouvaloff, one 
of the greatest heiresses in Russia, sister to pretty Madame 
Balaschoff, whose husband inherited the vast domains of 
the last Prince Paschkievitch, son of the field-marshal who 
crushed the Polish mutiny in 1863. 

Beside Count Woronzoff, Alexander III. had another 
intimate friend in the person of the late General Tcherevine, 
who, as chief of the political police and the Okhrana, or 
personal guard of the Sovereign, was perhaps the most 
powerful man in the Russian Empire. Occupying a position 
which was as dangerous as it was delicate, he yet secured 

I '^2 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

a wide circle of friends, and made no enemies. He had 
been on very friendly terms with the Tsarevitch and his 
wife, and he had for the latter a chivalrous affection, of 
which he was to give her the most devoted proofs until 
the end of his life. Extremely clever, with more states- 
manlike qualities than Count Woronzoff, he was perhaps 
more popular among the Society of the capital than the 
latter. He had, above everything, a cool, quiet courage, 
combined with a certain element of fatalism in his character 
which made him face death and danger with the utmost 
indifference. Twice his life was attempted, and on both 
occasions he disarmed the would-be murderer with an 
ease which astonished even those who knew him well. 
Few people have been more universally liked than General 
Tcherevine. His political adversaries respected him, and 
knew very well that once he had given his word he would 
keep it, notwithstanding any difficulties which might arise. 
During the period he held office Nihilism was entirety 
subdued, and that without resort to the rigorous measures 
that had been so distasteful during the last days of the 
preceding reign. 

General Tcherevine never left the Emperor, save for 
two weeks' annual holiday in the autumn. In St. Peters- 
burg he rented a modest flat in the house now occupied 
by the Austrian Embassy, but at Gatschina or Peterhof 
he lived in the palace. There he dined every day with 
the Imperial Family, amusing the Empress with anecdotes 
which he related with much humour, and with stories as 
to what was going on in town ; but he was never known 
to have repeated a single item of ill-natured gossip. He 
knew better than any man alive how to keep a secret, 
and to baffle any inquiries made of him. He did good all 
around him, and did it without any ostentation, being as 
modest as he w^as clever. 

133 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

He was always consulted whenever any important 
political decision was to be taken. Alexander III. valued 
his political abilities, and his clear outlook on events, as 
well as his dislike of every kind of intrigue. When Count 
Ignatieff had been obliged to leave the Ministry of the 
Interior, Tcherevine had not hesitated to say that the 
step was indispensable ; not that he cherished any animosity 
towards the Count, but because he shared the Sovereign's 
opinion that the day had not dawned when a Zemski Sohor, 
which was but a Duma in disguise, could be summoned. 

It is probable that had he lived he too would have 
resigned his functions after the Coronation in virtue of the 
old saying that a Sovereign's favourites never get on with 
his successor ; but death claimed him a very few months 
after Alexander III. In him Russia and the Imperial Family, 
especially the Empress Dowager, lost a truly devoted friend 
and servant. 

The mxOst remarkable among the politicians who governed 
the Empire during the reign, however, were M. Pobedonost- 
seff, Procurator of the Holy Synod, and Count Dmitry 
Andrieievitch Tolstoy. The former had been the tutor of 
the Emperor. He was of clerical origin, had studied law, 
and was considered one of the best jurisconsults in Europe. 
His great work on Roman Law has become classical. In 
appearance he was a lean old man, with a long nose, and 
sharp eyes half hidden under spectacles. He could be very 
pleasant, was a most agreeable talker, and was wonderfully 
learned and well read. He was a Russian of the old school, 
who saw no salvation for the country outside of absolutism, 
autocracy or orthodoxy, but he was not the narrow-minded 
individual he has been so often represented. He hated 
democracy, and used to maintain that its growth was par- 
ticularly dangerous in Russia, where education had not 
had time to influence in any marked degree the intelligence 

J 34 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

of the masses. He would have liked to augment the 
number of elementary and village schools, and held strongly 
the opinion that the number of students accepted for 
the higher schools and Universities should be restricted, 
and in that he showed a singularly keen knowledge of the 
country and of its moral and intellectual condition. 

When Alexander III. ascended the Throne, he found 
in power men of the most Liberal opinions, such as Count 
Loris Melikoff, at whose instigation the famous Constitu- 
tion which Alexander II. had signed on the morning of his 
death had been drawn up ; M. Abaza, not less Liberal than 
his chief ; and Count Milioutine, who, though in a less 
degree, was of the same opinion as his colleagues, that the 
time had come when some kind of liberty ought to be 
granted to the country. At first the new Emperor tried 
honestly to work with them ; but when he found that their 
opinions were incompatible with what he considered to 
be the right course to follow, he called in his old tutor 
M. Pobedonostseff to assist him. The latter drafted the 
famous manifesto in which were clearly announced the 
intentions of the Emperor to rule according to the strict 
principles of autocracy, of which he believed himself to 
be the responsible guardian. 

The Ministers at once sent in their resignations, and 
then it was that Alexander called in Count Ignatieff, who 
had lived in semi-disgrace since the Eastern War.j Un- 
fortunately, the two men did not agree. Ignatieff had 
an intense admiration for the Emperor, and considered 
him the ideal of what a Russian Sovereign should be, but 
at the same time he had lived too long abroad not to have 
become imbued with European ideas ; and he, too, thought 
that the people of a great empire ought not to be left 
without some knowledge of the way in which it is governed. 
He therefore prepared a scheme of reform which he hoped 

135 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

would please the Emperor and appease the democratic 
party, but the Emperor saw in it an attempt to weaken 
his rule as an autocrat, and angrily dismissed Count 
Ignatieff . 

The man who was to succeed him was probably at the 
time the most unpopular in the country. He, too, was a 
great noble, a perfect gentleman, and a man of strong 
character. For many years he had held the post of Minister 
of Education, and exercised such an iron rule in that capacity 
that he had raised against himself a perfect storm of hatred. 
His name stood for a system of repression which crushed 
every intellectual aspiration of the people. He had been 
compelled to retire from this position through the general 
indignation against him, and a hymn of praise had been 
sung when this had taken place. And this was the man, 
whom it was thought had vanished for ever from public 
life, who was called back to take a leading position in the 
government of a nation that had nothing but execration 
for him and his methods. 

It required the strong will of the Emperor to face this 
indignation, but he never flinched. In my opinion he was 
right. No choice could have been wiser than that of 
Count Tolstoy to restore order out of chaos. He was an 
honest man, one who could listen to reason, a statesman 
by nature and by education. He had what so many 
lacked in Russia, a plan of government, a clear insight as 
to the necessities which were paramount to the welfare of 
the country ; he knew that in order to make it powerful 
it ought to be quieted, that the revolutionary instincts of 
the peasants ought to be checked, the spirit of revolt in 
the Universities subdued, and the Army and finances 
strengthened. When he expressed these opinions to the 
Emperor, he is credited with having told him that he must 
not expect a glorious, but a useful reign, and that if he 

136 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

succeeded in this, he would deserve the gratitude of the 
country more than if he won a hundred battles. 

Alexander III. could understand and appreciate this, and 
these two men planned, thought, and worked together, and 
succeeded in raising the moral standard of Russia until it 
became a Great Power, and its Sovereign looked upon as 
the arbiter of Europe. It was a great work, done in a very 
short time, if we consider that the reign of Alexander lasted 
only thirteen years, and that Count Tolstoy preceded him 
to the grave. 

It was a work for which posterity ought to be grateful 
to them, even though in great part its effects have been 
effaced by the misfortunes of the Japanese War and of the 
Revolution that followed upon it. 

The Empress, too, had friends with whom she shared 
sorrows and joys, and she also was fortunate in her choice 
of them. I have already referred to the Countess Woron- 
zoff, and in addition to her 1 may mention the Countess 
Apraxine, who had been the first lady-in-waiting to wel- 
come the young Tsarevna upon her arrival into her new 
country, and who later on became the Princess Vladimir 
Obolensky. The Princess was a sure and faithful friend 
to her Imperial mistress, whose favour she enjoys to this 
day. Her husband was for many years at the head of the 
private household of the Heir to the Throne, and remained 
in that position after the Emperor's accession — ^until his 
death, indeed, which occurred in the Crimea three years 
before that of Alexander. Then there were Count and 
Countess Sergius Scheremetieff, worthy representatives of 
the old class of Russian boyars that have made the country 
great ; and then again there was Madame Scheremetieff, 
by birth a daughter of the mighty house of Strogonofi, 
whose mother had been the Grand Duchess Marie Nicolaiena, 
the sister of Alexander II. The two principal figures of 

137 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the Empress's Court, however, were Prince John Galitzine 
and the Princess Hel^ne Kotchoubey. 

Prince John Galitzine was perhaps the most popular 
man in St. Petersburg Society. Few have been more 
amiable, more charming to receive as guests in one's house, 
and more discreet to have for one's friend. No one knew 
more than he about all the scandals of St. Petersburg 
Society, and no one was ever more silent concerning them. 
He had manners recalling those of the old French Court, 
was conversant with all questions of ceremonial, had most 
remarkable diplomatic qualities, and was for the young 
Empress not only a devoted friend and servant, but also 
a sure guide in all social questions. He it was who used 
to tell her about the people who were presented to her ; 
who prevented her from falling into error as to what she 
ought to say to them ; who replied to all inquiries, and 
who smoothed away, with never failing tact, all the little 
difficulties which crop up in a Court where rivalry and 
jealousy are keen. 

The Princess Hel^ne Kotchoubey was one of the re- 
markable women of the nineteenth century. She was twice 
married : first to Prince Belosselsky, by whom she was 
mother of the present Prince of that name, of the Countess 
Schouvaloff, and the Princess Lise, or Lison, Troubetzkoy. 
By her second husband she had one daughter, who was one 
of the leaders of St. Petersburg Society, and was married 
to a millionaire, General Dournoff. The Princess H61ene 
had in her youth plaj^ed an important part in the social 
world of the Russian capital ; she was clever, not exactly 
beautiful, but possessed, even in extreme old age, a 
wonderful charm, and was one of the most admired women 
of her day. Her enormous riches had allowed her to keep 
open house and dispense a semi-royal hospitality to her 
friends. Her palace on the Nevski Prospekt — which 

138 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

ultimately became the home of the Grand Duke Sergius 
and his wife — ^was the scene of most splendid balls, which 
rivalled even the Imperial entertainments. 

The Princess Helene had travelled more than was usual 
among Russians at that time ; she had visited every Court 
in Europe, was everywhere welcome, and knew etiquette 
like that Duchesse de Noailles whom poor Queen Marie 
Antoinette had nicknamed " Madame TEtiquette." No 
one could uphold the dignity of a Court in the way that 
she did, and no one could walk with such majesty of bear- 
ing, or enter a room with such authority. When one saw 
her, one understood the part played by the old aristocracy 
in the times of the French kings, when it was considered 
a privilege and an honour to be in attendance upon the 
Sovereign. 

The Princess Kotchoubey, during her long journeys 
abroad, had become a friend of Queen Louise of Denmark. 
When the Princess Kourakine, who had been Mistress of 
the Household of Marie Feodorovna, died — an event that 
happened just after the accession of the Empress — the 
Queen recommended to her daughter the Princess Helene 
Kotchoubey for that difficult position, who, as she well 
knew, was the one woman who could win for the new 
Sovereign of Russia the sympathies of the Courts and reign- 
ing Houses of Europe. This choice was one of the most suc- 
cessful that could have been made. The Princess Helene 
was for the Empress a sure guide in all social and Court 
matters ; she signalled to her the people she ought to see, 
and brought to her notice every fact to which her attention 
ought to be drawn. When foreigners arrived in St. Peters- 
burg she knew who they were, and whether they ought to 
be received or not, and was a stickler for etiquette such 
as Russian Society had never seen. Her knowledge of the 
Almanack de Gotha, which she had learned by heart, 

139 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

prevented her from ever making a blunder ; and whilst she 
lived the dignity of the Court and of the Imperial House- 
hold was managed and maintained with something that 
was akin to art. No one who saw her at a State func- 
tion could ever forget her. It was a poem to watch her 
enter a room, or to precede or follow the Empress ; she 
was quite small, and yet appeared taller than many tall 
women, for not only had she a perfect carriage, but an elas- 
ticity in all her movements that at once attracted attention. 
With a soul above intrigue, she yet gloried in the exer- 
cise of influence, being always ready to tell the Sovereigns 
what she thought it was necessary for them to know, and 
free in her language with them, yet perfectly respectful ; 
very diplomatic with those with whom she came in contact, 
she was often entrusted with missions abroad, especially 
in regard to the old Emperor William, who had a very 
high opinion of her abilities. Her receptions were attended 
not only by all the ehte of the capital, but also by the 
crowds of people from the provinces who flocked to St. 
Petersburg every winter. It was there that one could 
admire the tact and knowledge of the world which the 
Princess possessed. She knew exactly every nuance with 
which she ought to receive either this or that person ; 
she showed each individual the right chair he was to 
occupy, and the moment he sa,t upon it, the friends 
of the Princess Kotchoubey became aware of the import- 
ance in which she held him. When she had to ad- 
minister rebukes, she did so with such tact that no one 
could be offended, and yet they were sometimes very 
bitter. I shall always remember one afternoon when a 
young officer, who was introduced to her for the first 
time, and who, as he belonged to a family worthy of 
her attention, she had seated next to herself, did not 
rise for an old general who arrived a few moments later. 

140 



Friends and Ministers of Alexander III 

The Princess, seeing that the young man did not move, 
and that the general had humbly appropriated another 
seat, rose, and taking a small chair, carried it next to him, 
and began chatting, leaving the offending youth solitary 
on his sofa. 

Another amusing episode of Princess Kotchoubey's 
career at Court occurred when the daughter and son-in- 
law of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, M. and Madame 
Ephrussi, arrived in St. Petersburg. They came on a 
financial mission, for it was just at the time when a new 
foreign loan was in question. Madame Ephrussi, a lovely 
woman, knew a good many Russians, who had been warmly 
welcomed in her house in Paris, but, alas ! her husband 
was a Russian subject, and as such had not the privilege 
to be admitted to Court or invited to an Imperial ball. 
Nevertheless, the invitation was sent without the knowledge 
of Princess Kotchoubey, who rose up in arms against it. 
She stormed, she raged, and at last declared, with pinched 
lips, that she would not present Madame Ephrussi. Prince 
John Galitzine tried in vain to persuade her to yield, and 
she finally declared that she would rather give up her 
position than consent to such a breach of ceremonial, which 
it was her duty to respect. " Sa Majeste pent /aire ce qui 
lui plait," she repeated ; *' mais moi je ne presenter ai pas 
Madame Ephrussi." Prince Galitzine at last, in despair, 
went to consult the Empress, who in her turn was terribly 
embarrassed, as she did not like to offend the daughter of 
the mighty Baron Alphonse, and, on the other hand, she 
was afraid to act contrary to her Mistress of the Robes. 
At last she thought of a way out of the difficulty. 

" Voila ce qu'il fatit faire," she said. " Vous me nom- 
merez Madame Ephrussi, dans une porte lorsque je la 
traverser aiJ* 

And it was done in the way suggested. With the 

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Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

greatest of trouble, the amiable and tactful Prince Galitzine 
hustled Madame Ephrussi between two doors, and whilst the 
Empress was passing, stopped her with the words, " Madame, 
void Madame Ephrussi." The Empress bowed, and mur- 
mured a few words ; and the thing was done to the relief 
of everybody. 

With the death of Princess Kotchoubey the old tradi- 
tions of a dame d'honneur, such as it was understood in 
the Royal Households of older days, came to an end. 
She has never been replaced. After she died her position 
was given to the Countess Strogonoff, and at the Court of 
the present Empress the post was filled first by the Princess 
Mary Galitzine, and is now held by Madame Narischkine, 
who has tried to revive its glories, but in vain. Times 
have changed, and the old Court ceremonial and etiquette 
have been relegated, with much else, to the lumber-room 
of forgetfulness. 



142 



CHAPTER XV 

ALEXANDER III IS CROWNED 

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that the 
pubhc in Russia prepared itself for the Coronation of 
Alexander III. March ist was not yet forgotten, and 
though little had been heard of Nihilists or anarchists in 
the two years that had elapsed, yet everyone knew that 
the movement still existed, and that the danger of yester- 
day might easily become the peril of to-day. One person, 
perhaps, in the whole country had no apprehension, and 
that was General Tcherevine, who was very well aware 
that the precautions which he meant to take would be 
sufficient, and that the person of the Emperor was in no 
danger whatever. These precautions, indeed, were so well 
planned that the numerous people who arrived in Moscow 
for the memorable event suffered far less inconvenience 
from the police measures inseparable from such occasions 
than those who thirteen years later were to attend the 
Coronation of Nicholas II. 

When it is necessary to do so, no Court in the world 
can display more pomp and splendour than the Russian, 
but it must be acknowledged that the magnificence of the 
sight witnessed in Moscow during the month of May, of 
the Year of Grace 1883, surpassed all expectations. The 
pageant began with the solemn entry of the Emperor and 
Empress into Moscow, previous to the Coronation ceremony. 
I witnessed it from the window of a house overlooking 
the famous chapel of the Iverski Virgin, the patron saint 

143 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

of Moscow. We sat from nine o'clock in the morning 
until nearly one before the procession began to appear, 
but no one thought for one moment that he had waited 
too long, so intensely interesting was it to watch the crowd 
which filled the streets behind the soldiers that lined both 
sides of it. From time to time a superior officer was seen 
on horseback, passing from one place to another, and say- 
ing, as the occasion demanded, a word or two to another 
officer on duty. Then, again, a member of the high clergy 
appeared, and, robed in cloth of gold, entered the chapel, 
from the steps of which he was to welcome the two 
Sovereigns. Or, again, a Cossack of the escort in his 
red uniform went to and fro, looking for somebody who 
was not to be found, or a Court official, with a cocked hat 
decked with white plumes, and in his hand a stick sur- 
mounted by a knot of pale blue ribbon, disposed the various 
deputations massed at the entrance of the chapel, or gave 
a direction to the choristers standing in their long tunics 
of raspberry red, braided with gold. It was a never-ending 
pleasure to look upon this varied sight, so quaint and so 
unlike anything one had ever seen before ; and when at 
length the first gun was fired announcing that the cortege 
had left the Petrovsky Palace outside the town, where 
the Emperor had passed the night, expectation became so 
intense that it was almost painful. 

Another gun, and then another, and three more in 
quick succession ; and then, after another half-hour, 
appeared in the distance the first troops that heralded 
the approach of the procession. One regiment after another 
filed before the sacred chapel, the officers saluting it with 
their swords, and took up their position beyond its gates 
on the big square opposite the Kremlin. Then came the 
Gentlemen of the Imperial Household on horseback, in their 
gold-laced uniforms ; then again masters of the ceremonies, 

144 



Alexander III. is Crowned 

in gilded carriages lined with red velvet, and then troops 
again ; deputations sent from the Asiatic dominions of 
the Tsar, also on horseback, in most original Eastern 
costumes, among which the head-dress of a Buddhist Lama 
attracted great attention. It was a kind of gold cap, 
reminding one in its shape of the historical coiffure of the 
Venetian Doges. The Emir of Bokhara, with his suite, also 
on horseback, came next, and at length, riding a small 
white horse, surrounded with a brilliant staff, and followed 
by his brothers and all the foreign princes present in Mos- 
cow, appeared the Emperor. He rode slightly in advance 
of the others, and when he arrived in front of the chapel 
he stopped his horse. Endless hurrahs greeted him whilst 
he slowly descended from his steed and waited until the 
heavy gilt carriage, drawn by eight milk-white horses, in 
which the Empress was riding, accompanied by her little 
daughter, drew up. Alexander himself opened the door 
of it, waving back the equerry who was about to do so, 
and helped Marie Feodorovna to alight. For one moment 
she stood there, dressed all in white, a big diadem of bril- 
liants on her head, innumerable diamonds round her neck 
and on the bodice of her dress, clothed in cloth of silver 
and with a cloud of delicate w^hite lace enveloping her 
graceful figure, the loveliest of smiles playing round 
her mouth, whilst tears of emotion were glistening in her 
sweet eyes. With one of those impulses which made her 
always do the right thing, even when it was not imposed 
by the ceremonial, she turned round and saluted the crowd 
that was staring at her, lost in admiration before her 
beauty. Then together with the Emperor she advanced 
towards the chapel, her train held up by pages, and listened 
with reverence to the few words of greeting of the bishop 
who, with cross in hand, was waiting to bless the Imperial 
pair on the steps of the chapel. They entered the chapel 
K 145 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

for a few moments of silent prayer, and then the Emperor 
helped his Consort to re-enter her carriage, himself re- 
mounted his horse, and the procession started again. 

It was an imposing sight, in spite of the narrowness of 
the way to which it was confined. The carriage of the 
Empress was the chief object of attraction ; a heavy coach, 
dating from the times of Elizabeth of Russia, with her 
monogram in diamonds on the doors ; it was lined with 
pure white velvet, and through the glass sides the figures 
of the Empress and her little daughter could distinctly 
be seen. Then came other carriages just as magnificent 
and imposing, in which rode the Grand Duchesses and 
other princesses, all in magnificent dresses and Court 
trains and splendid jewels. Then other vehicles not so 
gorgeous, perhaps, but still gilded and glorious with red 
velvet and golden laces, which contained the ladies of 
the Imperial Court, foremost among whom was seen the 
kokocknik, or old Russian head-dress embroidered with 
pearls, of the Princess H61ene Kotchoubey. Then troops 
again, the Cossacks of the private escort of the Emperor 
in red tunics, the chevaliers gardes in their golden cuirasses 
and big helmets surmounted by the Imperial Eagle with 
outstretched wings, and the big guns of the artillery ; and 
finally a timid little boy who had followed the procession 
from the very gates of the Petrovsky Park accompanied 
by a small black dog, that seemed just as lost in bewilder- 
ment at aU that was happening as was his master. 

The boom of the last gun had advised the crowd that 

for that day at least the pageant was over, and the Emperor 

had reached the Kremlin Palace. Everything had passed 

off to perfection without a single incident to disturb the 

splendour of the ceremony ; and now came three days 

of waiting, until that fixed for the Coronation dawned. 

It was a rainy morning to which, unusually early, we 

146 



Alexander III. is Crowned 

awoke, for one had to be in the cathedral by eight o'clock. 
All Moscow was in a fever of expectation, and I believe 
very few people slept that night. Inside the Kremlin itself 
the excitement was intense. The whole of the pavement 
of the inner courtyard in which stand the three cathedrals, 
with that of the Assumption in the farther background, 
and the palace with its famous so-called " red staircase " 
in front of the belfry of Ivan Weliki, was covered with 
scarlet cloth, and tribunes were erected around it. On 
each step of the staircase was stationed alternatively a 
Cossack from the private escort in red tunic, and a chevalier 
garde with his shining gold cuirass. A crowd of chosen 
representatives of the merchant and peasant classes was 
standing in that open space and examining with curiosity 
the occupiers of the tribunes, all of them people belonging 
to the highest society of the two capitals. 

The sky was grey, and a drizzling rain was falling at 
intervals. Inside the Cathedral of the Assumption were 
gathered the highest military and civil officers of the 
Crown, ladies of high rank and the heads of the foreign 
embassies. A common excitement, such as no one had 
experienced before, prevailed among all these people, the 
one anxiety being as to how the ceremony would proceed. 
At last the clergy left the cathedral in solemn procession 
to sprinkle with holy w^ater the path which the Sovereigns 
were to tread from the Kremlin to the church. Then one 
saw slowly approaching the foot of the staircase a heavy 
canopy held by officers belonging to the higher ranks. 
It was stationary for a few minutes and then a long train 
of gentlemen-in-waiting issued from the gallery which leads 
from the inner apartments of the palace to the " Red 
Staircase." They were followed by chamberlains, masters 
of the ceremonies, and at last by a procession headed by ^ 

the Queen of Greece, Olga Constantinovna, first cousin to 

147 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the Emperor, walking with a young boy, in whom every- 
one recognised Nicholas Alexandrovitch, the Heir to the 
Throne, arrayed in the full uniform of Chief Ataman of 
the Cossack army. They were followed by all the foreign 
princes and princesses, and the members of the Russian 
Imperial Family, and entered one after another the pre- 
cincts of the cathedral to await the arrival of the Emperor 
and the Empress. 

Another few minutes of almost breathless silence, and 
then shouts and acclamations announce the coming of the 
Sovereigns, and on the top of the staircase they appear 
together, he with bared head, in full uniform of a general ; 
she in a white gown all silver and lace, but with nothing 
on her head, whence lovely curls and locks of hair fall 
on to her neck ; Alexander III. leading by the hand 
Marie Feodorovna. He is calm but very pale ; she, on 
the contrary, looks extremely agitated, and her lovely eyes 
seem full of tears, whilst red spots upon her cheeks testify 
to her emotion. Slowly they descend together the long 
flight of stairs, and slowly also, under the big canopy 
with its ostrich plumes hovering above their heads, pro- 
ceed to the cathedral. On the threshold of the ancient 
church, the Metropolitan of Moscow, surrounded by his 
clergy, awaits their coming. For a few minutes they stand 
thus face to face, the Head of the State and the Repre- 
sentative of the Church, and then all this splendour 
disappears within the gates of the oldest of antique 
Moscow's shrines. 

As they proceeded to their seats, clergy, high digni- 
taries, and Sovereigns, the choristers burst forth into a 
chant of joy, at first subdued, then breaking out into a 
sound of triumph, and thunder their welcome to the Tsar 
of All the Russia s. 

Then the imposing ceremony began. At first the Metro- 

148 



Alexander III. is Crowned 

politan read prayers, and then the Crown was brought to 
him — that great Imperial Crown, the very sight of whic 
inspires terror to the onlookers, so perfectly does it repre* 
sent the weight of responsibility which rests upon its 
wearer. The clergy blessed it, and then Alexander III. 
stepped forward and with firm hands took it and put it 
upon his head. The sun then shone for the first time on 
that eventful morning, and its rays lit up the big diamonds 
and the fair, massive head beneath the beautiful diadem. 
Then the sound of the guns broke the silence, proclaiming 
from their iron throats to all the world that the Chief of 
the House of Romanoff has assumed the Crown which his 
ancestors had first won in that ancient city of Moscow. 
One after another the reports fall on the ears of the crowds 
outside the cathedral, and they too shout " Hurrah ! " and 
" Hurrah ! " until the walls of the Kremlin ring with the 
echo. 

Whilst the choristers intoned with their sweet voices 
the Te Deum, generals approached the Sovereign, bringing 
the Imperial Mantle in cloth of gold heavily embroidered 
with black eagles and lined with ermine, and tied it around 
his shoulders ; he took the Sceptre in his right hand and 
the Orb in his left, and then the whole assembly fell upon 
their knees, whilst he alone remained standing, arrayed 
with all the attributes of his Imperial power, and a prayer 
for him was read ; and after all the people assembled to 
witness his triumph had prayed for him, he, the Tsar, 
began in his turn to recite aloud the Nicene Creed, which 
has never varied since the day it was first composed, and 
which is treasured by the Orthodox Church as the funda- 
mental stone of its whole edifice. When one looked at 
him there, with the Crown shining upon his head and the 
Sceptre grasped in his firm hand, one was reminded of 
those beautiful lines by Longfellow : 

149 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

'' Dost thou see on the rampart's height 
That wreath of mist, in the Hght 
Of the midnight moon ? O hist, 
It is not a wreath of mist ; 

It is the Tsar, the White Tsar, 

Batyuschka ! Gosudar ! " 

Then, in her turn, the Empress advanced and knelt 
down at the feet of her Imperial spouse, with the folds 
of her silver dress falling around her, its white shimmer 
adding brilliancy to her whole figure. He, the mighty 
Emperor, slowly took a pretty small crown of diamonds, 
and carefully, with loving movements, set it on her bowed 
head. At that moment the Empress raised her beautiful, 
expressive eyes towards his face, and one could see that 
between the two there passed one of those fugitive minutes 
of intense emotion which occur but once in a human life, 
and which are sufficient to fill up the rest of it, with its 
remembered joy. He raised her in his arms, and, forgetful 
of the world around them both, pressed her close to his 
heart in one long and passionate embrace. And the choir 
chanted once more the words of a hymn of thankfulness, 
a Te Deum of reverent gratitude. 

After the Empress in her turn had been robed in her 
Imperial mantle and received from the hands of the Metro- 
politan the blue ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew, a 
solemn thanksgiving mass was celebrated ; and when that 
was over the doors of the cathedral were thrown open, 
and the Imperial procession appeared once more upon 
the threshold. This time Alexander wore the Crown and 
stepped alone under the canopy, his regal mantle trailing 
behind him, and, followed by the Empress, whose hands 
are joined together as if in prayer, he passed before his 
subjects, on towards the ancient Cathedral of the Arch- 
angels, and to the other churches of the Kremlin. The 

150 



Alexander III, is Crowned 

bells rang, and the belfry of Ivan Weliki sent forth its 
grave, solemn tones, and all the guns posted on the other 
side of the river added their vociferation to that of the 
crowd, and the hurrahs with which it greeted its crowned 
Sovereigns. The sun that had remained hidden, save for 
some few minutes, at length broke through the clouds, 
adding its splendour to the magnificent scene. Alexander 
III. appeared before his people, splendid in appearance, 
the image of that mighty Empire at whose head he found 
himself, which he was to lead on to peace and to prosperity, 
such as no one had even dreamt of on that sad day when 
he ascended his bloody throne. 

Festivity upon festivity followed through the succeed- 
ing three weeks, and then came the sensational moment of 
all, when the Emperor declared to the assembled peasants, 
come to greet him with the traditional bread and salt, 
that they were to return to their homes, and say that he 
would always care for their welfare, but would never con- 
sent to a new distribution to them of the lands belonging 
to the rural proprietors. To this firm speech can certainly 
be attributed the quietude which Russia enjoyed with 
regard to agrarian questions, until the Revolution which 
followed upon the reverses of the Japanese War opened 
the era of new troubles, of which we have not yet seen 
the end. 



ii;i 



CHAPTER XVI 

ST. PETERSBURG SOCIETY FROM 1883 TO 1894 

During the winter that followed the Coronation, Society 
in St. Petersburg began to settle down, and to assume 
the aspect which was to continue during the whole of the 
reign of Alexander III. As usual, the Court took the 
lead, and the programme of the season's festivities was 
generally drawn up to accord with that approved by the 
Empress for the Winter Palace ; this, as a rule, varied 
only in exceptional circumstances, but depended upon 
the time of the year at which Easter was celebrated. 

After his father's murder it was deemed advisable for 
the new Emperor not to reside in St. Petersburg. Alex- 
ander hated Tsarskoye Selo — ^where the Princess Youriev- 
sky had queened it for the previous ten years or so- — and 
Peterhof being uninhabitable in winter, it was decided 
that the Court should reside at Gatschina, a magnificent 
but totally isolated palace, which boasted of an immense 
park and many discomforts. 

The latter did not prevent the Emperor from liking 
the place, which he considerably improved, and where he 
resided for the greater part of each year until his death. 
He was able to enjoy there a certain amount of liberty, 
which was impossible for him in St. Petersburg ; he could 
take the exercise indispensable to his health without 
being disturbed, and have some mild shooting without 
going out of his park. He really loved Gatschina, and 
so did his children ; but it cannot be said that this affec- 

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St. Petersburg Society 

tion was shared by his Household, who were always sigh- 
ing whenever they returned to it, and rejoicing when the 
month of January took the Court back to St. Petersburg. 

Life at Gatschina was very quiet, and more like that 
of a private country squire than that generally supposed 
to be led by a Sovereign. The Ministers used to come 
in turns to present their reports to the Emperor, after 
which he generally kept them for lunch. Officers of high 
rank, functionaries called upon to present themselves to 
the Sovereign, were also received in the morning ; but 
these did not enjoy the favour of sharing his meal. In 
the afternoon Alexander generally took a long walk of 
some two hours, accompanied either by one of his sons or 
by the Empress, and in the evening a few members of the 
suite dined with the Imperial couple, after which the 
Emperor remained for an hour or so in the small drawing- 
room of his Consort, chatting pleasantly and smoking a 
few cigarettes. He then retired to his study, where he 
worked until very late in the night. 

Such was the life that went on day after day with 
but very little variation. Whenever anything of import- 
ance occurred in the capital, and to every regimental 
feast — of which there are so many in Russia — the Emperor 
and Empress went to St. Petersburg. The latter, kind 
and considerate as she always was upon these days, used 
to receive at the Anitchkov Palace the ladies desirous of 
presenting their respects to her, and also before the begin- 
ning of each season the debutantes of the year, together 
with their mothers, so as to save them the tedious journey 
to Gatschina in winter. At Christmas there are gener- 
ally Christmas trees lighted for all the members of the 
Household, and also for the soldiers of the regiments quar- 
tered at Gatschina, as well as for the children of all the 
Imperial servants, from which presents were distributed 

153 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

by Marie Feodorovna with her own hands. On New 
Year's Eve the Imperial Family removed to St. Petersburg 
to remain there until the beginning of Lent. 

On New Year's morning, after mass, there was a great 
reception in the Winter Palace. Everybody that was 
anybody was present, and though it was most trying for 
ladies to dress in full Court dress and trains at the early 
hour of ten o'clock, yet not one of those who composed 
the ^lite of St. Petersburg would have missed it. They 
were all but too eager to present their good wishes to their 
beloved Empress, who always received them with a beam- 
ing smile and the kindest of welcomes. Generally, im- 
mediately after mass, she received, with the Emperor, 
the members of the Corps Diplomatique, without their 
wives, as only Russian ladies were admitted to the Palace 
upon that day ; then Marie Feodorovna passed into 
another room, where she smiled her New Year's wishes 
upon her own feminine subjects. It was a long and try- 
ing day for her, but never did she show the slightest sign 
of fatigue or weariness, and she generally left everyone 
who had been allowed the happiness to approach her upon 
that morning, delighted with her kindness and affability. 

On New Year's Day the official rewards for the year 
were granted, and it was amusing to watch the faces of 
those that had received some sign of Imperial favour, 
and the disappointment of the less honoured ones. The 
Winter Palace, indeed, on the morning in question, afforded 
to students of psychology a wonderful opportunity to study 
human nature ; whilst the simple observer also could 
amuse himself by watching the display of pomp that this 
unique reception presented. It is still held, and once 
more is regularly attended, for Marie Feodorovna again 
presides at it, owing to the continued ill-health of the 
young Empress. 

154 



St. Petersburg Society 

On January 6th there was another reception at the 
Winter Palace, without ladies this time, for the blessing of 
the waters of the Neva. This sight was also viewed by 
the members of the Diplomatic Corps, with their wives 
and daughters, and the foreigners of distinction present 
in the capital, who were introduced by their respective 
Ambassadors or Ministers. After the ceremony there 
was a luncheon, the honours of which were undertaken 
by the Mistress of the Robes to the Empress, and the 
ladies-in-waiting. It was not until after these two 
functions that the official winter season was considered to 
have begun. 

The first ball of the year generally took place on or 
about January loth. It was essentially an official function, 
inasmuch as invitations were sent only to personages 
belonging to the first four classes of the Tschin, as it is 
called, or to members of the Imperial Household, with 
their wives and daughters, and to ladies who before their 
marriage had borne the diamond initial of the Empress 
and the rank of maid of honour. There were gener- 
ally some seven or eight thousand invitations distributed 
for this festivity, at which the most extraordinary figures 
appeared, who only showed themselves upon that one 
day, whilst many smart people, whose presence was an . 
ornament at all the small balls of the Empress, were absent 
from this particular one, owing to their not having the 
necessary rank to be admitted to it. Provincials arrived 
in town for the occasion ; governors of distant coun- 
tries, functionaries who would not have been admitted to 
any smart drawing-room, mustered in full force. It may 
have been they were more attracted by the supper, which 
was always the feature of this particular ball, than for 
the pleasure of seeing the Sovereigns, who, owing to the 
immense crowd, could not possibly be seen by every one 

155 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

of the numerous guests at this extraordinary function. 
Marie Feodorovna literally blazed with diamonds when she 
entered the ball-room with the Emperor, for on her slender 
person were displayed all the Crown gems. She was 
generally dressed in white satin or velvet upon that day, 
with the blue ribbon of St. Andrew across her shoulder, 
and an enormous diadem, the middle stone of which was 
a huge pink diamond. The Grand Duchesses followed her, 
but the Imperial Family did not dance much on this occa- 
sion beyond the one official quadrille, in which the 
Ambassadors and their wives were invited to participate. 

I have referred to the supper served at this ball. The 
menu of it was classical, and spoken of in all those inferior 
circles of St. Petersburg Society for whom asparagus and 
lobster represented the ne plus ultra of luxury. Each of 
these figured upon the menu, and were supposed to be 
brought fresh from Paris at great trouble and expense. 
The expense, of course, is less now than when the custom 
was inaugurated, but the tradition remains, and how 
often have I heard one or other of the remarkable old 
ladies who, with their feathers and flounces, came out of 
their retirement to attend the ball of the " Salle Nicolas," 
as it is called, remark, " Mon cher, il y avail des asperges 
fraiches pour tout le monde." 

Though asparagus might be there for everybody, it is 
certain, however, that there was not enough room for this 
heterogeneous assembly, and that the crush at these 
receptions surpassed ever5rthing that could be imagined. 
There was hardly elbow room, and to enjoy oneself was 
quite out of the question. 

With the ball once over, the Empress was free to 
receive her friends in the way she liked best, and gener- 
ally three, or sometimes four — according to the time left 
before the beginning of Lent^ — ^receptions were given in 

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St. Petersburg Society 

what was called the " Concert Room " of the Winter 
Palace. These balls were certainly unique from every point 
of view. They were never crowded, as rarely more than 
eight hundred invitations were issued, and the supper was 
served in the Nicholas Hall, a splendid apartment which 
was transformed into a winter garden. Each small table 
was laid for eight to ten people, having in the middle of 
it a big palm tree, at the foot of which was a parterre of 
roses and other flowers. Under the portrait of the Em- 
peror Nicholas I., which hangs in the centre of one wall, 
was a kind of parterre of hyacinths, mixed with tulips, 
opposite which stood the supper table of the Empress, 
to which were invited, apart from the Grand Duchesses, 
the Ambassadors, and some other important personages, 
and which was literally covered with the most splendid 
exotics. The Emperor never sat down to supper, but used 
to walk round the different tables, speaking a word here 
and there to the people whom he knew, and seeing to the 
comfort of his guests, as any other master of the house 
would do. 

These balls were the great feature of the St. Peters- 
burg season, and the brilliance of the dresses and jewels 
displayed at them was quite remarkable. The Empress 
used to dance every dance, and contrived in the intervals 
to speak with her friends, or give a word of encourage- 
ment to young debutantes, who were always the object of 
her special care, and whom she loved to see enjoy them- 
selves. 

In addition to these balls at the Winter Palace, Marie 
Feodorovna gave small dances at the Anitchkov Palace. To 
those she invited only her most intimate friends, to the 
number of three hundred at the most ; and, with the excep- 
tion of the Danish Minister, no diplomat was ever seen there. 
It was quite a private reception, and it lasted generally 

J 57 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

until the small hours of the morning. Another small ball, 
the invitations to which were confined within a very 
narrow circle, was the one given at the Hermitage, where 
supper was served in the brilliantly illuminated picture 
gallery, where one could admire the many chefs d'oeuvre 
which this famous collection contains, whilst talking with 
one's partner. 

Finally, on the last Sunday in Carnival, there was a 
reception at Court, which was generally held in the Yela- 
guine Palace, on the island of that name. Luncheon was 
followed by dances, which lasted, with an interruption 
for dinner, until twelve o'clock, when the Empress took 
leave of her friends until the next season, and left imme- 
diately for Gatschina, whither the Court returned that 
same night. 

With a few exceptions this programme was carried out 
regularly during the thirteen years of Alexander III.'s 
reign. The Emperor and his Consort used also to attend 
the receptions and balls of foreign Ambassadors, as well 
as those of some members of the Russian aristocracy, 
such as Count Scheremetieff, Prince Volkhonsky, Count 
Woronzoff, and M. Balashoff, and Count and Countess 
Steinbock Fermor. The last-mentioned gave one ball 
which to this day is remembered in St. Petersburg 
Society, so very magnificent was it. Then there were 
the receptions of Prince and Princess Menschikoff, which 
were always graced by the Imperial presence, as well as 
those of Count Orloff Davydoff and of the old Prince 
Youssoupoff. 

Lent was generally spent in Gatschina, and for Easter 
the Imperial Family returned to town for a few days. In 
June they moved to Peterhof, on the Baltic Sea, and in 
July made an excursion to Finland on their yacht. In 
August the great summer manoeuvres took place, after 

158 



St Petersburg Society 

which the Emperor and Empress generally went to Den- 
mark with their children. That was the time which 
Alexander III. considered his real vacation. There he 
could live quite like a private person surrounded by con- 
genial people ; there he could for a few solitary moments 
forget that he was the Tsar of All the Russias, and enjoy 
life in the way that he liked best. 

Of course, there were some variations to this yearly 
routine. Visits to be paid to or received from foreign 
monarchs, or journeys into the interior of the Empire ; 
but, generally speaking, the description I have given repre- 
sents the existence led by the Imperial Family at that time. 

Naturally St. Petersburg Society was influenced by all 
this. It underwent a certain change from its established 
customs of the former reign. For one thing it danced 
more, and for another it criticised less. Salons belonging 
to what one would call in England the Opposition gradually 
closed their doors. Somehow, it was felt they were out 
of place. Social scandals were for the most part discussed 
only among the coterie of the Grand Duchess Marie Pav- 
lovna, or in reference to that coterie. Politics ceased to 
interest the public, because it was felt — without its having 
been ever said — ^that this was a subject which the Sovereign 
liked to reserve to himself. Of course, people talked — this 
can never be prevented — ^but with one difference : when 
blame was heard anywhere, it was always connected with 
this or that Minister, and never attributed to the Emperor, 
whilst in the time of his father it had been the contrary : 
it was the Monarch who was criticised or taken to task, 
and his Ministers held blameless. 

Morals also underwent a transformation. Ugly scandals 
became rare, and I cannot now remember one of flagrant 
character. Among the leaders of Society at the time were 
the Countess Olga Lewachoff, the Countess Marie Klein- 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

michel — noted for her political proclivities — a reputation 
which she shared with Madame Nelidoff. The latter was 
sister to General Annenkoff, who constructed the Trans- 
caspian Railway, and cousin to the late Russian Ambassador 
in Paris. Count and Countess Pahlen were also very con- 
siderable personages in the social horizon of St. Peters- 
burg. He had been Minister of Justice during the reign 
of Alexander II., and she was a Dame a Portrait of the 
Empress. They represented the German element at Court, 
but were highly esteemed and very much respected by 
the Emperor. The Countess Strogonoff, Mistress of the 
Robes in succession to Princess Helene Kotchoubey, was 
a great lady who, before her appointment, had always 
lived a retired life, and retained her provincial tastes and 
manners. She was very timid, and took a great deal of 
time to get used to her position. Her receptions, given 
in a most magnificent house, were dull to the extreme, 
but very decorous ; she never knew who attended them, 
and rarely could recognise anyone. The attention of 
Society was forcibly drawn to her the first time that she 
appeared in St. Petersburg after her appointment as maid 
of honour. It was at a performance at the French theatre, 
and a rude young man, rather the worse for drink. Prince 

V , seeing an old frump sitting modestly in a corner 

of a box, went up and put out his tongue at her. One 
can imagine the scandal that followed. The hero of it was 
nearly turned out of his regiment, and probably would 
have been had not the good-natured Countess herself 
pleaded for his forgiveness. She was a kind woman, very 
stiff, very prim, but full of good qualities and intentions. 
Another maid of honour, of more social consequence 
than the Countess Strogonoff, was the Princess Elizabeth- — 
or Betsy, as everybody called her — Bariatinsky. She was 
a really great lady, who knew her place, and filled it to 

i6o 



St. Petersburg Society 

perfection ; her receptions were visited by the best people 
of St. Petersburg Society, whom she welcomed with a 
quiet dignity, 

I cannot take leave of my old friends among these 
ladies without mentioning the Princess Lise Volkhonsky. 
She was the wife of Prince Michael Volkhonsky, whose 
father had taken part in the conspiracy of December 14th 
that nearly cost Nicholas I. his throne. Prince Michael 
was born in Siberia, whither his mother had elected to follow 
her husband, and at his majority was restored to his title 
and rank in the noblesse. He had risen to a very high 
position, and had married a cousin — the Princess Volk- 
honsky — ^beautiful, clever, charming, with exquisite manners 
and most attractive personality. She frequently used to 
receive the Emperor and Empress, and though she seldom 
visited at other houses, yet she received a number of 
people in her own. Before her death she fell under the 
influence of the philosopher Vladimir Solovieff, and, partly 
owing to that influence, she was converted to the Roman 
Catholic faith. The event was not made public until her 
death, when difficulties ensued through the fact that 
Prince Volkhonsky wished the funeral to be conducted 
in accordance with the rites of the Orthodox Church. 
M. Pobedonostseff, the Procurator, interposed, and decided 
that since the Princess had seceded from Orthodoxy, the 
funeral ceremony must be conducted by the ministers of 
the religion she had adopted. A violent discussion ensued, 
the end of which was that the Procurator of the Holy 
Synod was severely blamed for the so-caUed " fanaticism," 
which, after all, had only secured what the Princess 
Volkhonsky would probably have herself preferred. 

Among the most exciting social events of the period 
was the matrimonial venture of the Grand Duke Michael 
Michailovitch. When the young Grand Duke began his 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

social career it was thought that his marriage would take 
place with a certain beautiful and accomplished young 
countess, but to the surprise of everyone he went abroad, 
whence it was announced he had wedded the young 
Countess Merenberg. 

Society talked extensively, of course, and the excite- 
ment was intensified by the news of the sudden death of 
the Grand Duchess Olga at Kharkoff, on her way to the 
Crimea. The Emperor deprived the Grand Duke of his 
rank at Court, and in the Army, and forbade him to return 
to Russia. He settled with his wife in Cannes, and she 
received from the Grand Duke of Luxemburg the title of 
Countess Torby. The present Emperor has, however, for- 
given them, and Michael Michailovitch is sometimes seen 
at Court festivities in St. Petersburg, 



162 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE FOREIGN POLICY OF ALEXANDER III. 

One of the questions that occupied public attention, both 
in Russia and abroad, when Alexander III. succeeded his 
father, was as to the policy he would adopt with regard 
to foreign affairs. Prince Gortschakov was still alive and 
officially at the head of the Ministry ; but its real leader 
was M. de Giers, who was to remain in control of it until 
his death. In appearance he was an insignificant little 
man, walking with a peculiar droop of one of his shoulders, 
and with as mild a manner as diplomat ever bore. He 
was supposed to foster German sympathies, and to be 
strongly inclined towards an anti-French policy. The 
Emperor, on the other hand, was known to be antagonistic 
to Teuton influences, and it was wondered what direction 
the Cabinet of St. Petersburg would take under the new 
regime. 

A strange little incident helped to excite the curiosity 
of St. Petersburg Society. It is nearly forgotten by now, 
but I must m^ention it because it had an undoubted influ- 
ence on the spirit of distrust which Alexander III. enter- 
tained until his death towards Germany and its intrigues. 

It was well known that the Grand Duchess did her 
utmost to give prominence to everything German, and 
to try to give the policy of the Russian Government 
an inclination towards Berlin. She was also believed to 
have personal communication with Prince Bismarck and 
to keep him au courant of everything that was going on 

163 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

in St. Petersburg. She had been a great favourite with 
Alexander II., and was the only member of the Imperial 
Family that had condescended to visit and be upon good 
terms with the Princess Yourievsky. This last circum- 
stance gave her an opportunity to keep herself well in- 
formed concerning the foreign policy pursued by the 
Government, and it is certain that she tried her best to 
smooth down the differences that had arisen between 
the Cabinets of Berlin and St. Petersburg subsequent to 
the Congress of 1878. 

When Alexander II. was murdered the position of his 
daughter-in-law underwent a change. The new Sovereign 
was the last man capable of consulting or confiding in 
a woman on matters of State. The Grand Duchess 
found herself thrust aside, and experienced from this 
inevitable change a keen feeling of disappointment and 
of anger. 

It would appear that one day she wrote fully upon 
these matters to Prince Bismarck, mingling in her letter 
not only complaints, but also bitter criticisms directed 
against the Emperor, his views, opinions, and future 
plans, such as she imagined them to be. Now comes the 
tragic side of the story. The letter fell into the hands of 
an aide-de-camp of the Grand Duke Vladimir, Count 

C , but how was never told. The Grand Duchess 

openly accused him of having stolen it, whilst he replied 
that he had found it in a place where it had no business 
to be, and had thought it his duty to appropriate it. I 
leave the reader to judge whether this explanation was 
justifiable or not ; it is certain that the letter was placed 
by the Count in the hands of the Minister of the Imperial 
Household and was submitted by him to the Sovereign. 
The scandal was great, and, for a wonder, was not hushed 
up. The Grand Duchess was the first to speak about 

164 



Foreign Policy of Alexander III. 

it, and to complain of the indelicacy of her husband's aide- 
de-camp. In this it has always seemed to me that she 
was right, for there is no excuse for such a mean thing 
as stealing a letter. The Count was dismissed by the 
Grand Duke, but immediately received the appointment 
of aide-de-camp to the Emperor, which set tongues wag- 
ging with more energy than ever. No one knows what 
would have happened had not the Grand Duchess fallen 
dangerously ill and been sent abroad to complete her 
recovery. When she returned the scandal had blown 
over, but its effects were not so easily forgotten. Alex- 
ander III. was disgusted to find that he had German 
spies even among the members of his own family, and 
the relations between the two Governments became more 
strained every day, in spite of the tact displayed by the 
German Ambassador in St. Petersburg, General von 
Schweinitz, and the military attache, General von Werder, 
who were both great favourites with the Tsar. Thanks 
to their efforts, a kind of modus vivendi was established, 
and the public had no knowledge that relations between 
the two nations were not as cordial as they had been 
before. 

It was not, however, the case, as some people have 
thought, that because of this breach between Russia and 
Germany the new Emperor at once turned his thoughts 
towards a French alliance. France as a country was not 
sympathetic to him, and he hated Republican govern- 
ments almost as energetically as did his grandfather 
Nicholas I. Furthermore, the Tsar was not entirely con- 
vinced of the stability of the French Republic, but his 
was a mind which prompted him to look round and to 
convince himself where lay the real interests of his own 
beloved Russia before taking a step which would be defi- 
nitive. During this interval of waiting and making up 

165 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

his mind as to what was to be done, a Minister such as 
M. de Giers proved himself to be most useful. 

The aim of the Emperor was to restore to the coun- 
try the quietness of which it had been deprived for some 
years previous to his accession. He wanted a prosper- 
ous Russia from the economical, as well as from the 
industrial point of view. Already he had in his mind the 
great scheme which will immortalise his name — the con- 
struction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was to 
unite Europe with his vast Asiatic dominions, and he 
well knew that in order to achieve such a gigantic enter- 
prise peace was indispensable ; that without it all his 
plans would be futile. 

He consequently waited, making no sign as to his 
intentions, and he became furious whenever an untoward 
event disturbed his plans and shook the edifice of peace 
he was labouring to construct. 

One can therefore imagine the anger with which an 
episode such as that connected with the two speeches of 
General Skobeleff was received by him. The comments 
of the German press on this regrettable incident increased 
the Tsar's passion, because he saw himself indirectly 
accused of having approved this intemperate language. 
It was, therefore, an imperative order which he sent to 
" the White General " to leave Paris immediately and 
report himself at St. Petersburg. 

I will here mention a fact of which, I believe, very 
few living people are aware. When Skobeleff received 
this message, or rather this command, his first thought 
was to resist, and he wrote in that sense to a friend in St. 
Petersburg, saying that he would not submit to be treated 
like a naughty schoolboy after all he had done for the 
country. It was the first time that friend had heard 
him mention his own services, and he thought it was not 

166 



Foreign Policy of Alexander III. 

the moment to do so, when a numerous and powerful party 
was accusing him of trying to provoke a war for his own 
personal satisfaction. 

" Do not make any mistake," he replied to the General. 
" If you disobey, you will not find in the whole of Russia 
a single man who will not judge you harshly for so doing. 
It is not for one so great as you to assume the right to 
give others an example of disobedience to one's Sovereign 
and to one's flag. Come back, explain yourself, and you 
will find that you will thus disarm your most bitter enemies. 
Rightly or wrongly, you have been represented as an am- 
bitious man, who even dreams sometimes of putting upon 
his own head the crown of the Romanoffs. Show them 
that you are made of other stuff, that before everything 
you are a true Russian and as such a faithful servant of 
the Crown. The time for military revolutions is past, never 
to return, and the Army is no longer a power standing 
face to face with the Sovereign, but a tool for the realisa- 
tion of his wishes and a support for his Throne." 

Whether this letter had or had not an influence over 
Skobeleff I cannot say, but it is certain that after receiving 
it he returned to St. Petersburg and on the very next 
day presented himself to Alexander III. What passed 
during that interview no one knows. Neither the Tsar nor 
" the White General " ever mentioned the conversation 
which took place between them, but Skobeleff changed 
considerably after this eventful journey of his ; he left 
the capital very soon after and returned to Minsk, where 
his army corps was stationed. Four months later, in 
the very prime of life, and at the zenith of his reputa- 
tion, he died quite suddenly, and in circumstances which 
some people persist to this day in thinking mysterious, 
whilst in reality they were only unmentionable. With 
him disappeared the last Sir Galahad that Russia will 

167 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ever see — a legendary hero, whose exploits will be the sub- 
ject of popular ballads which will be remembered and sung 
by women and children after we are dead and forgotten. 

It is useless to attempt to conceal the fact that the 
death of Skobeleff, which was a national misfortune, 
caused something like a feeling of relief abroad, especially 
in Germany, where the conviction held that he wanted 
to provoke a war, and in Turkey, where he was consi- 
dered to be dreaming of becoming Prince of Bulgaria at 
the first opportunity, with ambitions which might ulti- 
mately lead him to Constantinople. As for the Emperor, 
he regretted the loss of the General, but he was not sorry, 
if one can make such a distinction. War was far from his 
mind, and he could not help considering whether such a 
strong man, as Skobeleff undoubtedly was, would not 
become as dangerous in time of peace as he was useful on 
a battlefield. 

After the Coronation the foreign policy which Alexander 
III. meant to pursue became more evident. People under- 
stood that it would be directed towards the maintenance 
of peace so long as it was necessary for Russian interests, 
** All for Russia " became the motto, not only of the 
Emperor, but also of all his Ministers. The spirit of 
nationalism which had been dormant for so long began to 
revive, and gradually the world came to recognise that 
Alexander would have no other consideration than the^ 
welfare of his own country, in which the interests of his 
neighbours would have no part. In spite of his anti- 
German feelings, he had too much common sense not to 
understand that it was essential for both nations to live 
in peace with each other, and even when he was most 
incensed with the policy of Prince Bismarck, he did not 
contemplate a war with Germany, from which he well 
knew that no possible advantage to Russia could result. 

168 



Foreign Policy of Alexander III. 

It is now the time to say one word as to those famous 
forged Bulgarian documents about which so much fuss 
was made. No one knows to this day by what channel 
they reached the Emperor, but it is certain that he once 
remarked, when talking with one of his rare friends and 
confidants about that strange episode and the denial of 
Prince Bismarck of any knowledge of the papers in ques- 
tion, " Tout mauvais cas est niable." There is no ques- 
tion that he entertained feelings of suspicion against the 
Chancellor, and never quite believed that the documents 
were not genuine. Perhaps this conviction proceeded 
from his knowledge of the person from whom he had re- 
ceived them, and whom he probably considered as one 
who would not have stooped to such a means of revenge 
as helping to impose upon him such a gross fabrication. 
Of course, he was bound to accept the explanations offered 
by the German Chancellor, but it is to be questioned 
whether he believed in them implicitly. However, he 
appeared to dismiss the incident from his attention, but, 
nevertheless, it was to lead to great results, because in the 
course of time the idea of a Russo-French alliance was 
suggested by the very people who had brought these 
Bulgarian papers to the Emperor and at last succeeded 
in interesting in their cause no less a person than 
the Procurator of the Holy Synod, the all-powerful M. 
Pobedonostseff. 

It was he who convinced Alexander that, without 
going so far as an open and acknowledged alliance, some 
kind of tacit understanding might be arrived at with 
the French Republic, an understanding that would have 
for consequences a complete change in the political equili- 
brium of Europe, and might serve as a useful check on 
Austrian ambitions and designs in the Near East. 

It was upon this basis that the French fleet was sent 

169 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

to Cronstadt and that of Russia to Toulon. The festivi- 
ties which attended both occasions, and which originally 
were intended to be purely military in character, were 
transformed into manifestations of real friendship. So 
completely was prejudice swept away before these national 
displays that the Tsar at length consented to the " Mar- 
seillaise " being played in the halls of the Peterhof Palace, 
on the day that the French Admiral and officers dined 
there, and on its being sung in the streets of St. Petersburg 
itself. 

" Nous avians fait du chemin'* as the French say. 

Whether Alexander III. would have gone to Paris is a 
question that would be difficult to answer. It is certain 
that the visit would not have been sympathetic to him ; 
it is equally certain he would not have hesitated from 
it had he thought it was necessary as a guarantee of a 
long period of peace for Russia. That peace was his most 
earnest desire, and no Sovereign has ever had so much 
at heart the peaceful development of his nation than this 
mighty ruler of 160,000,000 people. If ever one earned 
the glorious title of " Peacemaker," it was the father of 
the present Tsar. 



170 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Alexander's ministers 

One of the first cares of Alexander III. when he began 
to reign was the financial condition of Russia. It was far 
from cheerful at that particular moment. The expenses 
of the Turkish War had not been paid ; taxes were coming 
in most irregularly ; the value of the paper rouble had 
gone down considerably ; and foreign credit was not easy 
to obtain. It was impossible to do without the latter, 
for the national deficit could not be met from the resources 
of the country alone. At length, after endless trouble, 
a loan was arranged, but under terrible conditions, imposed 
by the Jev/ish banking world of Paris and Berlin. With 
this loan the Rothschilds absolutely refused to have any- 
thing to do, on account of the massacres of Jews that had 
taken place in the south of Russia, especially in Kischinev. 

The situation was serious, and needed an energetic 
and clever man to face it. In the year 1889 the official 
world of St. Petersburg was surprised to read that the 
Director of the Technological Institute of that capital, 
M. Wischnegradsky, had been appointed Minister of 
Finances. 

If ever an " outsider " gained a foremost position, it 
was M. Wischnegradsky. He was unknown to the fashion- 
able world, and hitherto Ministers had been looked for 
in that charmed circle. No one knew him, no one had 
heard anything definite about him, except that he had 
been Chairman of the South-Western Railway, and 

171 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

succeeded in re-establishing order and prosperity to that 
enterprise, which had far from a good reputation when 
he was called upon to save it from bankruptcy. He was 
also credited with great tact, great learning, and an excel- 
lent knowledge of financial matters and problems. He was 
no longer young, but full of energy and determination. 
Beyond these superficial facts, no one could tell anything 
concerning him, or even make speculations as to whether 
or not he was fitted for the important post to which his 
Sovereign had called him. 

There were people in St. Petersburg who said that it 
was M. Pobedonostseff who was responsible for the appoint- 
ment. This assertion was absolutely untrue. It was the 
personal act of the Emperor, who had been greatly struck 
by a pamphlet written by M. Wischnegradsky on the 
Public Debt of Russia, which had quite accidentally fallen 
into his hands. He sent for the author of the pamphlet, 
and had two long conversations with him, after which 
the world was stunned by the news that Ivan Alexieievitch 
Wischnegradsky had been appointed to the task of 
repairing the shattered finances of the Russian Empire. 

Difficult though that task was, it was crowned with 
success. At least, M. Wischnegradsky put matters so far 
right that his successors only had to reap the benefit of 
his almost superhuman work. In his ideas as to the best 
way of restoring the credit of the country he showed him- 
self a great statesman as well as a great financier. He over- 
came difficulties almost insurmountable at first sight ; he 
induced the Rothschilds once more to smile upon a land 
in which their " co-religionists " were persecuted and 
trodden upon. He persuaded them, as well as other 
financial powers in Europe, that Russia had unknown re- 
sources within its limits, which only needed developing 
for the good of the whole of the industrial world. He 

172 



Alexander's Ministers 

above all things obeyed his Imperial master's orders, which 
consisted in trying to convince public opinion that so 
long as he reigned peace would never be endangered, and 
that Russia would follow a policy of industrial progress 
and peaceful development of her resources towards 
one goal, that of becoming a rich nation rather than a 
conquering one. 

For years M. Wischnegradsky worked at this task, and 
he lost his health and ultimately his life in bringing it to 
an issue. His first care was to consolidate the value of 
the paper money by gathering enough gold to guarantee 
the redemption of any issue that the Government thought 
it necessary to make. When he took in hand the direction 
of the Treasury, the amount of gold in the cellars of the 
Imperial Bank was scarcely sufficient to serve as security 
for the foreign loans with which the country was saddled, 
and all payments were made in paper. When he was com- 
pelled to retire from the public service, gold was beginning 
to be the common currency, and now one finds more of it 
in Russia even than in France, and the scarcity is in 
paper money. 

Wischnegradsky well knew that it was only a future 
generation that would reap the benefit of his policy, but 
this did not deter him from carrying out the programme 
which he had in his mind, in spite of his numerous enemies 
who howled at him because they did not perceive any 
immediate amelioration in the conditions which he had 
undertaken to transform from bad to good. 

Ivan Alexieievitch was a charming man from the social 
point of view, full of fun and amusing anecdotes, which 
he freely distributed in the course of conversation. In 
spite of the enormous burden of work which he had taken 
upon his shoulders, he found the necessary time to keep 
himself cognisant of everything that was going on in the 

173 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

world, and I do not think that any remarkable work of 
science or of literature was published without his finding 
time to glance at it, so as to be conversant with its most 
important points. He realised that it is essential for a 
statesman to keep himself posted as to the state of public 
opinion, not only at home but abroad, so as to be able to 
see to the needs of his own country through the criticisms 
addressed to it by the foreign press. Light was the thing 
he most valued, and of light he never found enough around 
him nor around the Emperor ; the latter, he used to say, 
ought to be spared petty criticisms and details, but should 
be kept informed as to the essential points of weakness 
in his dominions, no matter even if they became a source 
of painful disillusionment or of sorrow. 

He loved Alexander III. sincerely, and with a devotion 
such as is rarely met with in a Minister. He appreciated 
his honesty and the straightforwardness of his inten- 
tions, and above all he respected the love for Russia which 
animated his Sovereign ; he would have induced the Tsar 
to make the greatest sacrifices if only they were conducive 
to the prosperity of the Russian people. 

When the famine of 1892 brought the population of 
twelve of the most fertile Governments in the Empire to 
the verge of starvation, it was Wischnegradsky who spoke 
to Alexander III. of the misery that this famine was 
causing and would cause to Russia. This in spite of 
the recommendations of the then Minister of the Interior, 
M. Dournovo, who had succeeded Count Tolstoy in that 
responsible post, and who, being above everything a flat- 
terer, did not like to tell the Emperor the true state of things. 
Wischnegradsky even went so far as to have sent to the 
Tsar a piece of the terrible bread, made of grass and straw, 
that the peasants in certain localities were eating, in order 
to convince His Majesty of the distress ; and he, who was 

174 



Alexander's Ministers 

supposed to be so very economical, insisted upon enormous 
credits being opened in order to relieve the stricken pro- 
vinces. The burden of this arduous responsibility, and 
the strain of this gigantic work, told at last on the con- 
stitution of Ivan Alexieievitch, and one day in spring, 
whilst at Gatschina, where he had gone to submit his 
weekly report to the Emperor, he was stricken with an 
attack of what at first sight appeared to be apoplexy, and 
was with difficulty taken home. 

It was at that particular moment there appeared upon 
the political scene a person who ever since has occupied 
a considerable position in the history of Russia, Sergius 
loulievitch Witte, now Count Witte, whose signature 
stands at the foot of the Portsmouth Treaty of Peace with 
Japan. 

Count Witte, about whom so much has been written, 
comes of a good family of German origin, which settled 
in Odessa many years ago. He studied well, but through 
lack of means had not been able to obtain any appoint- 
ment, except of an inferior kind. For a number of years 
he was station-master at Popielna, a small station on the 
South- Western Railway, not very far from Kieff. It was 
there that M. Wischnegradsky, at that time chairman of 
the railway, saw him, and was struck with his abilities, 
and appointed M. Witte manager of the rolling stock of 
the company. Once in a position from which there was 
a chance of promotion and distinction, Witte showed to 
their best his unquestionable ability and knowledge of 
financial matters. When M. Wischnegradsky was called to 
the Ministry of Finance he at once brought Witte to St. 
Petersburg and made him chief of one of the most important 
departments of the Treasury. The rest became easy, and 
doubtless many of the reforms carried out by Wischne- 
gradsky were due in part to his alter ego, Sergius loulievitch 

175 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Witte. Wischnegradsky continually praised his subordin- 
ate to the Emperor, saying that without him he would 
never have been able to accomplish what he had, and 
when the Ministry of Communications became vacant, he 
proposed to the Sovereign to appoint M. Witte to the 
post. On the morning of the day of that fateful journey 
to Gatschina, Ivan Alexieievitch had felt unwell, and 
seeing Sergius loulievitch, asked him to accompany him. 
It was Witte who brought back to town his former chief, 
and during the sad days that followed he was continually 
in the house helping the bereaved family and taking all 
the trouble he possibly could from their shoulders, so as 
to leave them free to attend upon the sick man. 

About a week after the attack that had prostrated the 
Minister of Finance a letter was sent to the Emperor ; 
it opened in a most humble tone, and with the assurance 
that the writer was prompted only by a sense of duty, 
but the interests of Russia were dearer to him even than 
the ties of a grateful friendship. And then it went on 
to state that the health of M. Wischnegradsky was such 
that there was no hope of his ever again fulfilling the duties 
of his responsible post, and that this contingency ought to 
be provided against, or the interests of the country would 
suffer. Even whilst this letter was being written the 
Minister was slowly mending and looking forward to the 
day when he would be able to take up his work again. 

The Emperor showed this letter to General Tcherevine, 
who urged him not to take any immediate action, and 
offered himself to go and see how matters stood. He 
did so, and was able to assure the Tsar that there was 
nothing to warrant the assumption that Wischnegradsky 
would not get better, and that in any case it would be 
better to wait before making a decision that would cer- 
tainly break the heart of the old man, who was conscien- 

176 



Alexander's Ministers 

tious enough to resign his duties if he saw himself unfit 
to perform them. 

After a long illness, followed by a longer leave spent 
in the Crimea, Ivan Alexieievitch returned to St. Peters- 
burg, and once more took up his duties ; but the old 
activity was gone, and gone with it, too, was the energy, 
as well as the power to work, for which he had been so 
famed. After a few months he asked to be relieved of 
his duties, tired perhaps also of the many intrigues against 
him, prompted by the desire to see his successor installed. 
Before leaving his post, at a last interview with the 
Emperor, he recommended the appointment of M. Witte 
in his place. He retired into private life, and died two 
years later, deeply regretted by all who knew him, and 
leaving behind him the reputation of one of the most 
disinterested servants the Crown had ever had. 

Even before death had claimed M. Wischnegradsky, M. 
Witte had become one of the foremost men in official 
Russia. Clever to an uncommon degree, of great intellec- 
tual ability and statesmanlike views, he knew what he 
wanted, and in Russia that is the quality which is seldom 
met with. He was ambitious ; he desired power, and was 
one of the few men who knew how to use it. Above all, 
he had a keen knowledge of humanity, of its defects, and 
of its meannesses. Free from prejudices, he was not a 
man to be hampered by convention, and during the course 
of his career he had given striking examples of this disdain 
for public opinion. If not a Napoleon or a Bismarck, he 
was unquestionably a strong man, with the capacities, per- 
haps, of a Richelieu, who rose to his high position because 
a king helped him, and not because he helped a king. 

At the present moment Count Witte is, without doubt, 
the cleverest statesman that Russia possesses, though 
it is very doubtful whether he wiU ever return to power 

M 177 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

with the weight of the Treaty of Portsmouth hanging 
round his neck 

I cannot end this chapter without sa5ang a few words 
about another of the Ministers of Alexander III., who 
played an important part in public affairs owing to the 
transformation which he effected at the Ministry of Justice. 
Nicholas Valerianovitch Muravieff was a character out 
of the common. He was Public Prosecutor at the trial 
of the murderer of Alexander II., and had risen to fame 
by the very able manner in which he conducted this diffi- 
cult case. When he became Minister, principally through 
the influence of General Tcherevine, who considered him 
one of the ablest of public men, he at once made his pre- 
sence felt in his department, into which he brought a 
degree of order previously unknown. He was brilliant in 
the extreme, a quality which he shared in common with 
all the Muravieffs, and especially with his cousin, who 
was afterwards Minister for Foreign Affairs. After the 
Japanese War he resigned his position and accepted the 
post of Ambassador in Rome, where he died quite sud- 
denly and in mysterious circumstances very soon after- 
wards. Apart from his sterling qualities, he was one of 
the most interesting and charming men of his time. He 
left some curious memoirs relative to the events which 
accompanied the murder of the Emperor Alexander II., 
and the development and crushing of the Nihilist move- 
ment. If ever these memoirs are published they will 
prove an interesting contribution to the history of Russia 
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 



178 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE POLICE UNDER ALEXANDER IIL 

It is impossible, when writing about Russia, to avoid 
reference to the police. The general idea abroad is that 
visitors to the country have a policeman at their heels 
at every moment, and run the risk of being sent to Siberia 
at the slightest provocation, or even without any pro- 
vocation at all. They are exceedingly surprised when 
they arrive in St. Petersburg to find that the police are 
never seen anj^where except in the streets, and that their 
presence is not felt in any offensive way. During the 
reign of Alexander III. the Russian police system, especi- 
ally that of the capital, was organised to a degree of abso- 
lute perfection, but at the same time the members of it 
were never obtrusively in evidence. 

The force was divided into three sections. The poli- 
tical police, to which belonged the special corps known as 
the " corps des gendarmes," was controlled from the 
Ministry of the Interior, and its ramifications spread over 
the whole of Russia. The second section confined its opera- 
tions to St. Petersburg and was under the command of the 
Prefect of the city ; and, thirdly, there was the Okhrana, 
or special police, employed in guarding the Sovereign, to 
which section the others were subordinate. The Chief of 
the Okhrana yNdJs> General Tcherevine, to whose able care 
the most difficult matters connected with the organisation 
of these different branches of the service were entrusted, 
and who had the last word to say in regard to them. 

«79 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

The Prefect of St. Petersburg was General Gresser, a 
most able, trustworthy, and vigilant officer, full of energy, 
tact, and discretion, who not only had secured the most 
perfect order in the city, but was also most watchful as 
to any political manifestation that might occur. The 
corps des gendarmes was commanded by General Orgew- 
sky, a personage of a certain importance, if only on 
account of the number of enemies he had managed to 
make. 

General Orgewsky commenced his career in the crack 
regiment of the chevaliers gardes, and though not a favour- 
ite, yet was a prominent personage in St. Petersburg 
Society. He had been transferred to Warsaw as Colonel 
of the gendarmes at a time when Warsaw was supposed 
to be infested with revolutionaries and Nihilists, and had 
fulfilled his duties there to the general satisfaction of 
everybody. Further, he had married a lady honoured 
with the particular friendship of the Empress Marie 
Feodorovna, a friendship which she thoroughly deserved, 
being a most charming, amiable, and good woman. When 
the question arose of finding a suitable man to take over 
the command of the political police, and act as adviser 
to the Minister of the Interior, General Orgewsky was 
selected for the post. 

The General was a stern man, of a harshness of cha- 
racter that bordered on cruelty, and he set himself to 
perform his duties in the most relentless way. No one 
could boast of having succeeded in arousing his indulgence 
or the slightest feeling of mercy when what he considered 
to be his duty was in question. He was, indeed, over- 
sensitive on the point of duty, and jealous to a painful 
degree of the power which he wielded. 

It was this jealousy that brought him into disgrace. 
About four years after the accession of Alexander III. 

i8o 



The Police Under Alexander III. 

there were rumours of a Nihilist plot against his life. The 
police had an inkling of it, but could not ascertain any- 
thing definite concerning it. General Orgewsky took the 
matter into his own hands, and wanted to send men to 
St. Petersburg to make investigations. General Gresser 
objected to this, saying that his agents were already on 
the track of the conspirators, and that as he was respon- 
sible in the city for the safety of the Sovereign, he was 
not going to have his plans disturbed by other people, 
who were ignorant of them. The quarrel at last became 
so bitter that it was carried to the Emperor, who upheld 
General Gresser, adding that he *' could find plenty of 
men to fill the post of Chief of the Gendarmes, but that 
he could not so easily replace General Gresser as Prefect 
of the capital." Events justified the Emperor's confidence 
in the Prefect, for a few days afterwards the city police 
arrested all the conspirators on the Nevski Prospekt, 
where they were parading with bombs in their pockets, 
waiting for the coming of the Emperor to the Commemora- 
tion Service in the church of the fortress of St. Peter and 
St. Paul on the anniversary of his father's death. 

After that there was no question of the supercession 
of General Gresser, and until his death he retained the 
position of Prefect of St. Petersburg in a manner that 
has never been equalled. He was everywhere, and saw 
to everything ; was present at every fire, and every day 
drove all through the city to see that everything was in 
order. He knew absolutely all that was going on, even 
down to the private love affairs of prominent people in 
the capital, but never was he heard to utter a single word 
that could have revealed his knowledge. His discretion 
was supreme, and secrets secured by him were never 
revealed. After his death he was succeeded by General 

, and it became a common saying in town that 

i8i 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

" Gresser knew everything and told nothing, while 

knew nothing and told everything.*' 

When Count Tolstoy, under whom Orgewsky and 
Gresser served, was asked why he had sacrificed Orgew- 
sky instead of Gresser, he replied, " Gresser is a subordinate 
who behaves as such ; Orgewsky is also a subordinate 
who has forgotten the fact. I have reminded him of it, 
and that is all I have to say/* 

General Gresser's death at a comparatively early age 
was tragic in the extreme. That a man so clever, so 
cynical in a certain sense, who knew better than anyone 
the value which ought to be attached to quack medicine 
advertisements, should have been victimised by one of 
these specious charlatans is almost incredible. Yet it 
was the allurement of a " youth restorer " that captured 
this astute chief of police. The drug was administered 
by injection, and General Gresser submitted to several 
doses ; blood-poisoning ensued, and he died in terrible 
agony in the course of three or four days. 

When General Orgewsky retired from the responsible 
post of Chief of the Gendarmes, he was appointed a senator, 
and lived for some years in St. Petersburg. He was then 
appointed Governor-General of the Provinces of Lithuania, 
and some little while later died at Wilna, after terrible 
agony, from cancer. 

The safety of the Sovereign and of his family was 
finally entrusted to the Okhrana, but after the death of 
General Tcher^vine, which occurred during the present 
reign, the police arrangements were entirely changed. 
Whether the present arrangement is more successful than 
the former I do not know. One thing, however, is cer- 
tain, and that is, in spite of what may have been believed 
abroad, there were not many attempts on the life of 
Alexander III. The most serious was the one to which I 

182 



The Police Under Alexander III. 

have already referred. All the others were either of no 
consequence, or were nipped in the bud by the police. 
The Emperor himself hated to be followed by detectives, 
and whenever he noticed one about him would send him 
away, almost rudely. He repeatedly told his Ministers 
that he believed in Divine Providence, and knew he would 
not die one hour earlier than was ordained, and that all 
the precautions which they took in regard to his safety 
only made him ridiculous. 

It was, therefore, extremely difficult to combine the 
measures that were considered indispensable to the security 
of the Tsar with his own orders, about which he was very 
particular, getting into a passion when they were not 
obeyed. 

An amusing instance of this occurred one afternoon 
when the Emperor was walking in the park at Gatschina, 
accompanied only by his dog. He suddenly saw a man 
hiding in the bushes as if afraid of being seen. Alexander 
went towards him, but the man ran away, and whilst the 
Tsar was still looking in the direction taken by the sus- 
pect, some detectives appeared, and a wild chase began, 
which ended in the man being caught. In view of the 
Emperor's orders, not one of the police officials would 
consent to take the culprit before him, until General 
Tcherevine appeared upon the scene and gave the neces- 
sary directions. It then turned out that the person who 
had been the cause of all this disturbance was himself a 
detective who had been ordered to follow the Emperor, 
but in such a way that the latter might not notice him. 
When he saw that Alexander had discovered him, his only 
desire was to run away. The incident caused a deal of 
amusement, but Alexander III. was furious, and gave vent 
to his rage in a few most energetic expressions that pro- 
duced terror all round. For three days he would not 

183 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

speak to^ General Tcherevine, whom he said was lacking 
in common sense in adopting such childish measm'es for 
his safety. His straightforward nature hated all this 
*' unnecessary fuss," as he called it, and he always used 
to say that Providence was his best guardian angel, whom 
he trusted in preference to all others. 



184 



CHAPTER XX 

THE TRUTH ABOUT BORKY 

Any account of Alexander III. would be incomplete with- 
out a reference to the railway accident which happened 
at Borky and nearly cost the Sovereign and his family 
their lives. Foreign papers have always attributed it 
to an attempt made against his person, but I can say 
on the authority of one who conducted the inquiry con- 
cerning it that the incident at Borky was an accident, but 
an accident due to criminal carelessness and the absurd 
principle that a monarch cannot be disobeyed when he 
gives an order, even when that order is bound to end in 
disaster to himself. 

The manner of the accident was as follows : — 
The Emperor and his family were returning from the 
first visit to the Caucasus that they had paid since the 
accession. This visit had been made the occasion of 
numberless ovations, and had been extremely popular. 
The three weeks spent by the Imperial pair in this part of 
their dominion formed a continual triumph, and the 
Empress in particular had been excessively pleased and 
touched by the love which had been expressed for her by 
the different classes of the population. Contrary to the 
usual practice, the entire personal suite of the Sovereigns 
had accompanied them during this journey, as well as 
all the Ministers. Among the latter was Admiral Possiet, 
the Minister of Public Ways and Communications, who 
had occupied that post for fifteen years and had been a 

185 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

personal friend of the late Emperor. Upon him had 
fallen the entire management of what was to prove a 
momentous journey. He it was who had given instruc- 
tions as to how the Imperial train was to be watched and 
driven, and he had allowed no one to share with him this 
responsibility. The Royal train was a very long and 
heavy one, but its capacity was not equal to the demands 
of the increased entourage, and carriages had to be coupled 
on to accommodate them. Two engines had also to be 
employed, one of which was of recent construction and the 
other almost obsolete in its antiquity, and totally unfit to 
be driven at the same speed as the other. This over- 
sight was in part the cause of the accident. It is related 
that when the train passed Kharkoff an engineer who 
happened to be at the station remarked that it would be 
a wonder if no accident happened to it. The train was 
driven very slowly, so slowly that the Emperor became 
impatient, and asked whether the speed might not 
be accelerated. Admiral Possiet gave orders to that 
effect, but the principal engineer of the line, who was 
also on the train, replied that this could not be done, and 
pointed out to the Minister the reasons for it. Possiet 
said that if the commands of the Emperor were not 
executed he would ask for explanations, and that such 
explanations would involve the blame of everyone con- 
cerned. He added that he would telegraph to the next 
important station ahead, ordering another engine to be 
ready for the Imperial train, and meanwhile nothing 
would happen. The engineer kept silence, but gave 
instructions for a slight increase of speed ; and it was 
entirely due to his disregard of the Admiral's order for 
greatly increased speed that Alexander III. owed his 
life, for if the train had been going faster not one person 
would have escaped the catastrophe. At the time, the 

i86 



The Truth about Borky 

Imperial Family were sitting at lunch with the members of 
their suite. Suddenly there was a jerk ; it was when the 
leading— and weaker — engine, was pushed was off the rails. 
At the same moment the carriages at the end of the train, 
being lighter than those in front, were also derailed. Before 
anyone could inquire what had happened the roof of the 
Imperial saloon had fallen in, and the whole carriage 
overturned, burying in its wreckage all who were in it. 

The confusion which followed was indescribable. Not 
one of those who escaped but believed himself to be the 
only one left alive to tell of the catastrophe. The first 
person to emerge from under the broken carriage was 
the Emperor, who, crawling on all fours, managed to 
emerge from the mass of broken timber and iron that 
was crushing him. He called for help, and himself began 
to remove the wreckage in an effort to save the Empress. 
She was his first thought, and when at last, aided by 
two soldiers who had run to his assistance, he managed 
to pull her out from the ruins of the train, he was so 
thoroughly unnerved that he sat down on a stone, and 
drawing her to his heart, exclaimed, " Mimi, Mimi, are you 
sure that you are not hurt ? " 

In the meantime help had come, and an officer having 
heard the cries of a child in the field close by, had run to 
its assistance, and brought back the little Grand Duchess 
Olga, aged six, who had been thrown out of the open win- 
dow of the carriage into the field. Soon the other Imperial 
children were found, and the survivors of this terrible 
accident were able to estimate its effect. 

The number of victims was considerable. Imperial ser- 
vants, soldiers, guards in charge of the train, cooks, maids, 
in all about forty-five people were killed or injured. The 
telegraph poles had been damaged, and it was impossible 
to summon medical help quickly. The Emperor's own 

187 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

doctor began to attend to the injured, and the Empress, 
forgetful of her own slight contusions, helped him with 
all the devotion of a real sister of charity. She carried 
water, made bandages with her own linen, which she tore 
into shreds for the purpose, spoke to the injured, and 
comforted them with aU the sweet words that came to her 
lips. The Emperor, in the meanwhile, was superintending 
the rescue and salvage operations, and doing all he possibly 
could to hurry them on, and, above all, to remove the 
wounded men and see to their being properly attended. 
Then at last, after five weary hours of waiting in a drizzling 
rain that added to the discomfort of the situation, a relief 
train arrived. 

The Emperor had it driven to the next station, and 
there summoned the village priest to conduct a service 
of thanksgiving for the living and of memory for the dead 
in his presence, during which the tears streamed down 
his cheeks, and when he returned to St. Petersburg it was 
noticed that a great change seemed to have occurred in 
him : he was oppressed by sadness, every sign of joyous- 
ness seemed to have departed from his nature. This un- 
fortunate accident at Borky without question laid the 
foundations of the disease to which the Emperor was to 
become a victim. In the joy of seeing him emerge from 
it safely and apparently uninjured, people forgot to ask 
themselves whether it might not after all have harmed 
his constitution. He looked such a picture of health that 
the idea that something might be amiss did not even enter 
the minds of those who surrounded the Emperor — ^not 
even that of the Empress. As a matter of fact, he received 
an injury to his kidneys which might have been cured if 
it had been treated immediately, but which, neglected, 
was to bring him to an early grave. The weight of the 
wreckage under which he had been pinned had crushed 



The Truth about Borky 

some nerves in his back, and chronic nephritis ensued. 
Ultimately Bright's disease developed, which was only 
discovered when it was too late to attempt a cure. Though 
he had rallied immediately from the shock of the accident, 
the Emperor soon after began to find that he was not so 
well as formerly ; he complained of headaches, and that 
he could not secure a comfortable pair of shoes, always 
saying that those he had were too narrow for him. This 
was attributed to caprice, and it did not occur to anyone 
that the reason for it lay in the fact that the Emperor's 
feet were swelling rapidly. 

In January of 1894, St. Petersburg was startled by 
the news that its beloved Emperor was ill. It was almost 
on the eve of the first ball of the season, and caused great 
excitement in Society. The ball was countermanded, and 
it was officially announced that the illness was a sharp 
attack of influenza complicated with a touch of pneu- 
monia. For three or four days the bulletins were rather 
alarming, and a celebrated Moscow doctor, Professor 
Zakharine, was called in. But Alexander mended wonder- 
fully quickly, and very soon was out again. His daughter 
the Grand Duchess Xenia was making her debut, and he 
did not like to cancel any of the Court festivities for which 
arrangements had been akeady made. The first Court 
ball was postponed for a fortnight, and then was attended 
by the Emperor, as were those that followed after. Appar- 
ently he was again in good health, though in accordance 
with his doctors* orders he worked a httle less hard. He 
was, nevertheless, looking so ill, and his complexion had 
grown so sallow, that a few keen observers suspected that 
something was radically wrong, but, of course, did not 
dare to give expression to their fears. In July the Imperial 
Family started as usual for its annual excursion in Finnish 
waters, and it was during this trip that the Emperor's health 

189 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

took a decided turn for the worse. A young doctor who 
was accompanying him took upon himself to make certain 
analyses, and was horrified to find as a result that the 
Sovereign was suffering from albuminuria in an advanced 
stage and in an acute form. 

He told the truth to the Empress, who at first would 
not believe him. The Court was returning to Peterhof 
for the marriage of the Grand Duchess Xenia with her 
cousin the Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch, and it 
was decided that nothing should be told the Emperor, 
until this event was over, beyond the necessity to take 
certain remedies. The Tsar felt keenly the parting from 
his eldest daughter, and though she was not leaving the 
country, yet he well knew that, with her new interests, 
the relations between them would no longer be the same. 
Then, too, the betrothal of the Heir to the Throne with 
the Princess Alix of Hesse was a subject of preoccupa- 
tion to the Sovereign. The Grand Duke had spent a part 
of the summer in England, where his future wife was residing 
at Windsor Castle with her grandmother Queen Victoria, 
and had been delighted with his stay there. But Alexander 
HI., as a rule, did not care for a member of his family to 
remain too long abroad, and he was eager for his son to 
return to Russia, yet, on the other hand, he did not like 
to say so ; and altogether he was worried more than was 
good for his health. 

In September the Imperial Family left for the Castle 
of Bielowiege, in the Government of Grodno, in the centre 
of the vast forest which is the glory of that splendid domain. 
There Alexander seemed at first to rally, but afterwards 
the worst symptoms of his disease developed, and it was 
decided to summon from Berlin the famous Professor 
Leyden, supposed to be the greatest living authority on 
the disease from which the Emperor was suffering. 



The Truth about Borky 

When Leyden saw him he recognised at once that a 
cure was impossible, but he applied himself to minimise 
the sufferings and to prolong as far as was possible the 
life of the sick man. His efforts were successful in bring- 
ing a little ease to the invalid, and the suggestion was 
made that he should go to a warmer climate than the 
damp one of St. Petersburg. The Queen of Greece sug- 
gested Corfu ; this seemed to please the Emperor, and he 
laughingly remarked that in his cousin's house he should 
still feel at home. The King and Queen of Greece offered 
him the use of their lovely villa '* Mon Repos '' at Corfu, 
and Alexander accepted it with an eagerness which sur- 
prised his family, who were well aware of his dislike of 
living anywhere but in his own house. The plans for the 
journey were accordingly made, and servants and furniture 
sent in advance, so as to have everything ready by the 
end of October, when it was decided that the visit should 
take place. Professor Leyden was asked to accompany 
the Emperor to Greece, and readily agreed. Alexander 
seemed so delighted that apparently he began to pick up 
strength, and at length in the last days of September he 
left Pielowiege for Livadia in the Crimea on the first stage 
of his migration to Corfu. When he reached there he 
seemed so much better that the Empress began to have 
hopes that after all the doctors might be mistaken, and 
that her beloved husband would recover. But about a 
fortnight after their arrival in the Crimea, Alexander had 
a relapse, after which the thought of his being well enough 
to leave Livadia had to be abandoned, and his family 
were warned to prepare for the worst. The days of the 
best and wisest Sovereign that Russia ever had were 
numbered. 



191 



CHAPTER XXI 

LAST DAYS AT LIVADIA 

It was a lovely autumn afternoon, almost summerlike in 
its beauty, when the Polar Star, flying the Imperial stand- 
ard, steamed into the harbour of Yalta. All the local 
authorities had gathered there to await the arrival of the 
Emperor and his family. They had not visited the Crimea 
for three years, and as usual whenever they arrived 
in their southern residence, the whole population turned 
out to receive them and express their delight. Livadia 
was more a country house than a palace. It had been 
built for the Empress Marie Alexandrovna — whose state of 
health had often obliged her to spend the autumn and 
winter months in a warm climate — and had been bequeathed 
by her to her eldest son. The Emperor, however, did not 
share his mother's affection for the place, and it was not 
often that he visited it. On this occasion it was only 
after great hesitation that he consented to stop at Livadia 
at all, for his desire was to go straight to Corfu. He seemed 
to have a presentiment that the place would be fatal to 
him, and even said so to the Empress. Circumstances and 
the doctors, however, proved too strong for him, and he 
was persuaded to see what the Crimean climate would do 
for him, and to try and gather there some strength for 
the longer journey to which he looked forward with an 
eagerness he had never been seen to display for anything 
before. 

When the Imperial yacht drew up at the pier of Yalta, 

192 



Last Days at Livadia 

Alexander did not feel well enough to receive the authorities 
on board as was the custom on such occasions. The 
Empress welcomed them with her usual kindness and 
sweet smile, saying merely that the Emperor felt tired 
with his journey, but that he was ever so much better, 
and that she hoped a few months' stay in the lovely climate 
of the south coast would soon set him quite right again. 
She spoke with a conviction which she could not have 
felt, but perhaps in the effort to assure others she foimd 
comfort to herself, some lightening of the dark shadow 
which was hovering over her. She herself supported her 
husband when they landed, and did her best to dis- 
simulate her anxiety as well as the tottering steps of the 
Emperor. 

The change in the latter's appearance since his last 
stay in the Crimea terrified all those who had assembled 
to greet him. He looked a perfect ghost — ^pale, thin, and 
with the saddest of smiles upon his lips. He spoke a 
few words to the Governor and the other authorities, 
but seemed to be in a hurry to get home, and hastened 
to his carriage, in which he was rapidly driven to the 
Palace. 

The first few days passed quietly. The invalid spent 
most of his time out of doors, and appeared more cheerful 
and more content with his condition. He watched from 
the terrace the blue sea spreading beyond, and the war- 
ships anchored in the harbour of Yalta, of which one, the 
Pamiat Merkuria, newly built, was the object of his special 
interest and attention, and he often spoke of it, saying 
that as soon as he felt better he would go on board and 
examine it carefully. Alas ! it was upon this same ship 
that his mortal remains were taken to Sebastopol on their 
way to St. Petersburg for burial. 

By and by the whole Imperial Family gathered in the 
N 193 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Crimea under one pretence or another, so as not to allow 
the invalid to suspect that it was anxiety for his health 
that had brought them there. But Alexander was not 
deceived, and well understood the gravity of his condition. 
When the Empress was not present he sometimes spoke 
of what was to be done after he had gone, but the proposal 
which was made at that time to celebrate quietly the mar- 
riage of the Heir to the Throne with the Princess Alix of 
Hesse, in the private chapel of Livadia, did not meet with 
his approval. He did not think, and said so, that the 
wedding of the future Sovereign ought to be solemnised 
without the proper pomp and ceremonies inseparable from 
such events. He did not even express the desire to see 
his prospective daughter-in-law arrive in the Crimea earlier 
than the time which had been originally fixed for her 
journey, the last days of October, and yet he had not seen 
her since her betrothal to the Tsarevitch. It seemed 
as though he was afraid of exhausting his remaining strength 
in useless emotions, and wanted to reserve it for the last 
parting with the wife he loved so well. She, on her 
side, was heroic in the calm she displayed and the force 
of will with which she dried her tears whenever she 
entered her husband's room, so that he might not perceive 
her agony. She surprised everybody by her courage 
and Christian resignation to the will of the Almighty ; 
never once did she allow herself to give vent to her 
despair. 

Only when her heart was wellnigh breaking did she 
send an urgent telegram to her beloved sister, Alexandra, 
then Princess of Wales ; the appeal was responded to, for 
both the Prince and the Princess started the same evening 
for Livadia. 

The Grand Duke Alexis met them at Sebastopol. The 
first question the Princess asked was, " Are we in time ? " 

194 



Last Days at Livadia 

A mournful shake of the head was the only reply she 
received, and she burst into tears upon hearing it. 

When the Empress saw her sister her composure gave 
way for the first time since her arrival at Livadia ; and 
for the first time, too, she seemed to realise the full extent 
of her terrible misfortune. Her agony was piteous in 
the extreme to behold, and she sobbed for a long time, 
shedding most bitter tears when the Princess of Wales was 
trying to comfort her. Yet actually what could one 
say, what consolation could one offer for such an awful 
blow, when all the earthly hopes, not only of a family, 
but also of a whole nation, hiad been smitten to the 
ground ? 

Alexander III. had longed for the arrival of his brother- 
and sister-in-law, and often spoke of their last visit to 
the Crimea, which had been for the celebration of his 
own silver wedding. It is quite certain that the thought 
that they would be there to support the Empress in her 
trial was a last comfort for him, and though he died before 
they could reach Livadia, yet he found sufficient strength 
to write a few words of farewell to the Princess of Wales, 
to commend her sister to her care. He had no illusions 
left as to his own condition, and he kept asking eagerly 
for his cousin the Queen of Greece, who had always been 
his great favourite. 

When Olga Constantinovna arrived he used to keep 
her beside him for hours, talking as much as his growing 
weakness allowed him to do, and reminding her of their 
youthful and childish days. The Queen's mother, the 
Grand Duchess Alexandra Jossifovna, joined her daughter 
a few days later, and she it was who suggested to the 
Emperor to call to his bedside the famous Father John of 
Cronstadt, who was venerated throughout Russia as a 
saint, and in whose prayers the people had enormous 

195 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

faith. Alexander instantly consented. The Father was 
telegraphed for, and when he arrived at Livadia the dying 
Sovereign had him brought to his room, and at once asked 
him to pray for him. A touching conversation took 
place between the mighty monarch and the humble parish 
priest. 

" My people love you," said the Emperor. 

" Yes, Your Majesty," replied Father John ; " your 
people love me." 

" And I also belong to the Russian people," said Alex- 
ander. *' I too love you, and I want you to pray for me. 
I know I am dying, but I wish you to know that I have 
always tried to do my best for all — for all," he repeated. 
*' And I am not afraid — ^no, I am not afraid. And I wish 
you to tell my people that I have no fear. Probably God 
thinks I have done enough that He calls me. I am content 
to do what He wants." 

He asked that the last Sacrament might be adminis- 
tered to him, and after the rite had taken place he seemed 
more peaceful. Resigned he had always been, as well 
as ready to give an account of his stewardship to Him 
who had entrusted him with it. 

While these last scenes were taking place the Princess 
Alix of Hesse was hastening to the Crimea. At Berlin 
the Emperor William came to greet her at the railway 
station and to exchange a few words with her whilst the 
train was stopping there. At Warsaw her sister the 
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna met her, and 
accompanied her to Livadia, where already the whole 
of the Imperial Family had gathered. She was intro- 
duced into the Emperor's bedroom, but he was too weak 
to do anything else but exchange a few words with her 
and to bless her ; but he did so with a solemnity which 
impressed the whole assembly, wishing her every happi- 

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Last Days at Livadia 

ness, and adding that he wished Russia happiness through 
her, and by her. When this was done the brave man 
knew that his earthly task was over, and prepared himself 
for death. 

He lingered for a few days longer, not suffering much, 
save from suffocation, fits of which often troubled him. 
But he was even cheerful and content, talking with his 
doctors and thanking them for their care of him. He 
liked Professor Leyden, who had devised means to relieve 
his sufferings, and often asked him whether the swelling 
of his legs could not be lessened, as it troubled him much 
in his movements. He used to leave his bed in the after- 
noon, and to have his arm-chair wheeled near the window, 
or on to the terrace when the weather was quite warm, and 
he watched the landscape and the sea, and often asked 
for flowers to be brought to him, which he kept in his 
hands and then distributed to those around him. His 
children often came to him, and he caressed them, but 
seldom spoke, except to the Empress, whom he scarcely 
liked to have out of his sight, as if he wanted not to lose 
a single one of the moments left to him to be with her. 
Once he was heard to say, " Poor Mimi I " but that was 
the only time that he seemed to give way. Otherwise his 
resignation was perfect, his calmness wonderful, his faith 
in a life everlasting entire and strong. He had cast all 
earthly thoughts aside, trusting to Divine Providence to 
take care of his family and his nation, and without a 
murmur was awaiting the dawn of his last day. 

Through the night which preceded that fateful Novem- 
ber ist he was very restless, but at length, towards the 
morning, fell asleep. The Empress went into the next 
room and lay down for an hour, then returned to the 
dying man. At about nine o'clock he awoke, but did not 
move, lying on his back, supported by high pillows, and 

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Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

with his eyes wide open, with a cheerful expression in 
them, as if looking into the great unknown. Father John 
and his own confessor, Father Yanischeff, came to his bed- 
side, and asked him whether he would not like to receive 
the Sacrament once more. He cheerfully consented, and 
after the ceremony was over, he had the Heir to the Throne 
called to him, and talked to him seriously for a few 
minutes ; then he blessed his other children, and added 
a few words of thanks to his servants and to those who 
surrounded him. And he once more asked for the Queen 
of Greece. When she approached him he took her hand, 
and merely said, " Olga Constantinovna ! " looking at 
her with his blue eyes that were already glazing over. 
The Queen knelt beside him, with difficulty restraining 
her tears, and he pressed her fingers with his own. Then 
he sank back in his pillows, as if unable to bear any 
more. 

Towards three o*clock he had himself dressed, put in 
his arm-chair, and wheeled near the window, which he 
asked to be opened wide. The Empress came and knelt 
beside him, supporting him with her arms, and the family 
were called again. Alexander lay back quite calm, but 
his breathing was getting more and more difficult. He 
kept pressing the hand of his wife, and then, amidst a pro- 
found silence, not even broken by a sob, one last deep 
sigh was heard and a great light went out. 

The Empress remained immovable beside him whilst 
the doors were opened ; and the suite, household, and 
servants were brought into the room and defiled for one 
last farewell before the dead man and his kneeling wife. 
They reverently bent down and kissed the dead and the 
living hand, then retired sobbing bitterly. 

A witness of this heartrending scene, Prince Sergius 
Troubetzkoy, then Head of the Imperial Household, made 

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Last Days at Livadia 

a sketch of it, which is preserved by a few chosen friends, 
and no more precious memento exists than that simple 
drawing, traced amidst all the anguish that accompanied 
that solemn hour. 

The body of Alexander III. had not yet been placed 
on his funeral bed, when the ears of the inhabitants of 
Yalta, who through days of anguish and suspense had 
waited for news from the Palace of Livadia, were startled 
by the booming of the big guns of the Pamiat Merkuria ; 
and as they listened to these minute guns they under- 
stood that all was over, and that it was the last fare- 
well of the Black Sea Fleet to its dead Sovereign. 

That same evening, on the lawn opposite the entrance 
to the Palace of Livadia, an altar was erected and Father 
Yanischeff, in golden vestments, emerged from the gates 
and solemnly administered to a numerous assembly the 
oath to the new Sovereign. Of all the pomp, the glory, 
the hopes, that had embellished the reign of Alexander 
IIL, nothing was left except a woman's broken heart and 
the tears of a whole nation. 

The body of the dead Emperor was taken to St. Peters- 
burg, and laid to rest beside those of his ancestors, in the 
Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. For days the popu- 
lation of the capital passed before the bier to take a last 
look at the familiar features of its beloved Sovereign, 
How small he was, covered almost entirely with the folds 
of his Imperial mantle of gold and ermine — ^that same 
mantle he had so proudly worn on his Coronation day 
in Moscow ! The expression on his face was calm and 
serene ; he had truly entered into his rest. 

All the countries of the world sent representatives to 
attend the funeral ; the whole of Russia prostrated itself 
at the foot of the catafalque upon which Alexander lay. 
Nothing was wanted to make the ceremony an event to 

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Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

remember for ever. But its chief feature was that it was 
not a mere ceremonial time of mourning ; there was dis- 
played the genuine grief of a great nation, the cry from 
the heart of a people : " We have lost a Father, and there 
was no one greater or more virtuous than this man in the 
whole of Israel I " 



2CX> 



BOOK II. 1894—1913 



BOOK II 

CHAPTER I 

FUNERAL AND WEDDING BELLS 

IT was a cold November afternoon. The guns of the 
fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg 
were thundering their last salute to Alexander III., 
whose remains were being lowered into the grave by the 
Palace Grenadiers, whilst all the bells of the great city 
were tolling mournfully a solemn farewell. Round the 
open vault his family were kneeling, taking a last glimpse 
of the coffin as it slowly disappeared from their sight. 
Sobs were heard from the widow and her children ; heart- 
rending sobs, which merged into the low chant of the 
clergy, and added poignancy to the scene. 

Beside the grave the new Emperor was standing, a 
slight, small figure, with indecision in his movements and 
a hunted, anxious expression in his blue eyes. When the "* 
last rites were over he escorted the widowed Empress to 
her carriage, which was awaiting her at a side entrance 
of the cathedral, and then, after another look at the 
tomb which was being closed, he went out of the church 
through the front door. He was alone, and for a few 
seconds paused on the steps, as if dazed by the light out- 
side, after the half-darkness of the church. 

As he appeared upon the threshold the troops massed 
on the large square inside the fortress lowered their colours 

203 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

before him for the first time since the day of his accession 
to the Throne of Russia, and for the first time, also, the 
band played the National Anthem. The Army saluted 
its new Chief, welcomed the new Sovereign. The reign 
of Nicholas II. was beginning amidst manifestations of 
sympathy such as rarely had been witnessed in the 
Empire over the destinies of which he was called upon to 
preside. 

People pitied him for his youth, his inexperience, and 
for those tragic events so closely preceding his wedding. 
They pitied, too, his young bride, whose advent into her 
new country was taking place at such a mournful time. 
All these circumstances increased the general sympathy, 
so that when he entered upon his new duties and respon- 
sibilities he found everybody ready and willing to help 
him and anxious to make him forget that the pealing of 
his wedding bells was mingled with the sounds of tolling 
for the death of his father. 

When, a few days later, the nuptials of Nicholas II. 
with the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were celebrated in 
the Winter Palace, a sympathetic crowd again gathered 
in the vast halls of that historic residence. All were eager 
to see the young bride, whose arrival had been preceded 
by the reputation which she had acquired in her former 
country, of being not only a clever woman, but also one 
possessing a high moral standard and a strong character. 
One had heard she was kind, humane, cultivated in the 
extreme, and imbued with all the humanitarian ideas 
for which all the children and grandchildren of Queen 
Victoria had been so remarkable. Moreover, she belonged 
to that House of Hesse which had already given one 
Empress to Russia, in the person of the grandmother of 
Nicholas II. The bride had further claim on the interest 
of the Russians from the fact that she was the sister of 

204. 



Funeral and Wedding Bells 

a princess who had succeeded in making herself extremely 
popular in the country — ^the Grand Duchess Elizabeth 
Feodorovna, the consort of the Grand Duke Sergius. All 
these circumstances put together would have been suf- 
ficient to ensure the sympathies of the country, even if 
the personal appearance of Princess Alix had not been 
such as to command them, and her extreme beauty 
only added to the interest with which she was wel- 
comed. 

On the morning of that memorable November 26th 
which was to see the Princess Alix of Hesse united to 
Nicholas II., the Winter Palace early began to fiU. The 
ceremony was fixed to take place at eleven o^clock, but 
long before ten had struck people poured into the resi- 
dence of the Tsars. Representatives of all the difierent 
classes of society which constituted the Empire were 
gathered within the Palace. One could see deputations 
from the Army, the Navy ; from the merchant and the 
industrial classes, as well as from the rural population; 
from the Cossack army and from the Asiatic populations 
owning allegiance to the Romanoffs. One could witness 
the curious spectacle of the diamond tiara of some Court 
beauty beside the caftan of some peasant, and the gold 
embroidered uniform of a chamberlain or other high 
official contrasting by its gorgeousness with the dark and 
plain tunic of a village mayor, or the neatly attired officer 
of the reserve forces. 

All necks were stretched to catch a glimpse of the Im- 
perial procession proceeding to the chapel, and a feverish 
excitement reigned amidst this motley assemblage gathered 
together to see a spectacle which never before had been 
witnessed in Russia — that of the marriage of a Reigning 
Sovereign. 

There was a long wait, and people already began to 

205 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ask themselves whether something had not happened to 
stop the ceremony, as twelve o'clock struck, and still no 
sign of the bridal procession was to be seen. The occa- 
sion was so exceptional that etiquette was for once dis- 
regarded, and discussions eagerly went on as to the future 
of the marriage about to be celebrated when the sounds 
of the prayers for the dead over the remains of Alexander 
III. had hardly died away. 

At last the thumping of a stick was heard — ^that of 
the Master of Ceremonies, who heralded the approach of 
the procession. First appeared various servants and 
officials of the Household. Then, amidst a hushed silence 
and an intense emotion that brought tears to the eyes 
of many an old servant and follower of the dynasty of 
the Romanoffs, one saw the bridal couple advance. 

Nicholas II. was dressed in the red uniform of his 
Hussar regiment, with the white dolman slung across 
his shoulder. He still wore the epaulets of a colonel of 
the Army. He had refused to assume the insignias of 
a higher rank, saying that he would prefer to keep those 
that had been conferred upon him by his father. He 
was leading his future Consort, whose cheeks burned with 
excitement, and whose trembling hand rested timidly in 
the one with which he was conducting her to the church. 

** How beautiful she is ! " 

That exclamation followed her all along her path, and 
it is true that her appearance was positively magnifi- 
cent as she stood there in her bridal array of silver cloth 
and old lace. Her unusual height helped her to bear 
the weight of her dress and set off its splendour in its 
best light. Her mouth quivered a little, and this relieved 
the habitual hard expression that was the one defect of 
an otherwise perfectly beautiful face, the straight, classic 
features of which reminded one of an antique Greek statue, 

206 



Funeral and Wedding Bells 

The glow upon her cheeks only added to the loveliness 
of her countenance, and her eyes, modestly lowered, gave 
to her whole figure a maidenly shyness that made it 
wonderfully attractive. She had upon her head the dia- 
mond crown which all the Russian Grand Duchesses wear at 
their marriage service, and from it descended a long white 
lace veil, kept in its place by a few sprays of orange 
blossom and myrtle. 

Her dress was of silver tissue, and from her shoulders 
descended a long mantle of gold brocade lined with ermine, 
the train of which was carried by eight high officials of 
the Court. That mantle had been the object of many 
a discussion. Usually the Grand Duchesses of Russia 
wear on their wedding day a mantle of crimson velvet, but 
here it was the bride of an Emperor, and it was thought 
that some distinction ought to be made, although there 
was no precedent for such an event. At last it was decided 
to make the mantle of gold brocade, but not to embroider 
it with the black eagles that adorn the Imperial mantle 
assumed by Sovereigns at their Coronation. 

Alexandra Feodorovna wore also, on her neck and 
the bodice of her dress, the Crown diamonds which only 
the Consorts of Sovereigns have the right to assume. 

Behind the bridal pair came the Empress Dowager 
Marie Feodorovna, who, always brave, had made this 
great effort to appear at her son's wedding. She was 
leaning on the arm of her father, the old King of Denmark. 
She firmly stepped on the path of duty, ever mindful of 
her obligations as a Sovereign ; but her red eyes, and 
weary, despairing, tired look, told the inward struggle 
which she was enduring. The King was bending 
tenderly over her ; it was a touching sight to see this 
old man trying to uphold the courage of his afflicted child, 
and to sustain her in her great sorrow. 

207 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

After the Empress and her father came a long file of 
foreign Royalties, foremost among whom were the Queen 
of Greece and the Prince and Princess of Wales. The 
future King Edward of England had been most active 
during the weeks that had elapsed since the death of 
Alexander III. He had taken the direction of all the 
arrangements concerning the wedding of his nephew the 
Tsar. It was he who had insisted upon its being cele- 
brated at once before the mourning for the late Emperor 
was at an end. It was he who had taken the part of 
guardian towards his niece the Princess Alix ; and it was 
he — ^so it was whispered, at least — ^who had tried to incul- 
cate in Nicholas II. the principles which ought to govern 
a Sovereign who wants to go with the age and not to keep 
an old regime which even in Russia had grown out of 
date. 

It was said that owing to his efforts the old and 
traditional enmity which had divided the Russian and 
English Courts was to come to an end, and that friendly 
relations between them would be the result of this mar- 
riage which was going to unite the nephew of the Princess 
of Wales with the granddaughter of the Queen of England. 

The members of the Imperial Family walked after the 
foreign Princes and Princesses, and the long procession 
was closed by the maids of honour of the Empress and 
the other Court ladies. Immediately behind the bridal 
couple were also to be seen the Minister of the Imperial 
Household in attendance on his Sovereign, and the Mis- 
tress of the Robes of the young Empress, the Princess 
Mary Galitzine, who was to become one of the most 
important personages of the new regime. 

At the entrance to the chapel the Metropolitan of St. 

Petersburg and the members of the higher clergy were 

waiting for the procession. Holy water was presented to 

208 



Funeral and Wedding Bells 

the Emperor and to his bride, and then the marriage 
ceremony began. 

The chapel of the Winter Palace is quite small, and it 
would have been impossible for all the people assembled 
there to enter ; but one after another those present peeped 
into it, just to see how things were going on, and always 
reported to the less fortunate ones that the bride was 
keeping her lovely head bowed down, and that, notwith- 
standing the emotion under which she was seen to be 
labouring, she kept quite calm, and made her responses in 
a firm though low voice. The bridegroom appeared more 
agitated, and had to be prompted by the priest. The 
Empress Marie was quite broken down by grief, and sobbed 
bitterly during the ceremony. When it was over she folded 
her son in her arms in one long and tender embrace, and 
also kissed most affectionately her new daughter-in-law. 
Then all the Royal and Imperial personages present came 
and offered their congratulations to the newly married 
couple, after which mass was celebrated, the procession 
re-formed and proceeded once more through the State 
rooms of the palace to the private apartments, where lunch 
was served for the bride and bridegroom and their family. 

It was then known why the marriage ceremony had 
been delayed. It seems that an over-zealous police official 
had not allowed the coiffeur who was to fix the crown on 
the hair of the Imperial bride to enter the Winter Palace 
on account of his having forgotten to provide himself 
with the necessary entrance card. The unfortunate man 
protested and implored to be allowed to pass, but it was of 
no avail ; and whilst he was discussing and protesting, 
Alexandra Feodorovna was sitting before her dressing- 
table, wondering what had happened and what she was 
going to do if he did not turn up. 

At last he was discovered by one of the valets of the 
o 209 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Emperor. But a whole hour had been lost, and it was 
past twelve oVlock when at last the bride was ready and 
able to proceed to church. 

After lunch the Dowager Empress was the first one to 
leave the Winter Palace for Anitchkov, where the young 
people were to reside with her until their own apart- 
ments were ready to receive them. Half an hour later 
Nicholas II. and his bride entered a State carriage, drawn 
by six white horses. An immense and enthusiastic crowd 
cheered them as they emerged from the gates of the 
Winter Palace on the way to Anitchkov. The Empress 
kept bowing repeatedly, but she was so nervous that she 
appeared to move her head mechanically, and her eyes 
were filled with tears which she tried hard to restrain. 
It seemed as if she only then realised the weight of the 
duties and responsibilities which were henceforward to 
rest upon her shoulders, and, too, as if she shrank from 
them. Anxiety was in her countenance, her smile had 
lost its sweetness, but nevertheless her mien more 
than anything else, gave one the impression of a great 
dignity, and she certainly seemed fitted for the high 
position which had become hers. 

The Sovereigns proceeded to the Kazan Cathedral, 
where they worshipped at the shrine of the Virgin, who 
is one of the patron saints of St. Petersburg. Next, they 
passed before the Roman Catholic church which is situated 
on the Nevski Prospekt, where they found standing on 
its threshold the Catholic Archbishop with his pastoral 
cross raised before him. The Emperor ordered the car- 
riage to stop, and he accepted with reverence the wishes 
expressed for his happiness and that of his newly wedded 
Consort. That interview created a precedent, for never 
before had the Imperial House publicly acknowledged 

the existence of another religion than the orthodox one 

.210 



Funeral and Wedding Bells 

in Russia. It was freely commented upon at the time 
and taken as an indication of tolerance in the religious 
opinions of the new monarch. 

A few minutes later the doors of the Anitchkov Palace 
were opened to the newly wedded couple. At the head 
of the staircase, waiting to welcome them, stood the 
Dowager Empress, still clothed in her white gown. She 
pressed to her heart her Imperial son and her new 
daughter-in-law, and tenderly conducted them to the rooms 
prepared for them, which were those the Emperor had 
occupied as a boy. They were quite small, and hardly 
fitted to be the residence of a mighty Sovereign ; but, 
such as they were, the young couple settled in them, and 
there they spent the first months of their wedded life. 
There began the new existence of Alexandra Feodorovna ; 
there commenced her career as an Empress, and there 
she became acquainted with her first sorrows and her 
first joys as a wife. 



211 



CHAPTER II 

A CHARACTER SKETCH OF NICHOLAS II. 

When the present Tsar of All the Russias ascended 
the Throne he was absolutely unknown to the public. 
Unfortunately, he is almost as unknown at the present 
day, although nearly twenty years have elapsed since he 
succeeded his father. Nicholas II. is one of those timid, 
weak natures who nevertheless like to assert themselves 
at certain moments in matters utterly without import- 
ance, but which, to their eyes, appear to be vital ones. 
His mind is as small as his person ; he sees the biggest 
events go by without being touched, or being even aware 
of their great or tragic sides. 

His education had been neglected, and he was brought 
up as befitted an officer in the Guards, not as the heir to 
a mighty Empire. For a number of years after he had 
emerged from his teens he was treated as a little boy, 
and not allowed the least atom of independence. The 
Empress had studiously kept her children in the back- 
ground, and her sons hardly ever went out of the school- 
room. When Nicholas was about fifteen he was giv&a 
a tutor in the person of General Danilovitch, a most re- 
spectable man, but a nonentity, and not even a person- 
age belonging to the upper ten, or possessed of manners or 
education in the social sense of the word. He was of that 
class of people who eat with the knife, and though he did 
not communicate this peculiarity to his Imperial pupil, yet 
he did not teach him those small conventions which dis- 

212 





NICHOLAS II., TSAR OF RUSSIA 

Photo: Boissonnas &* Eggler^ St. Petersburg 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

tingxiish gentlemen born from gentlemen by reason of their 
official position, which latter are but too often found in 
Russia. 

The instruction which the young Grand Duke received 
differed in no way from that given to cadets in military 
schools ; he was taught obedience and submission to the 
will of his parents, but he was not prepared for the high 
position in which he found himself placed quite un- 
expectedly. Such a contingency had never been catered 
for by those responsible for his training. 

The comparatively early age at which the Emperor 
Alexander III. died had excluded, during his lifetime, 
any thought of the possibility of his succession becoming 
open for years to come. The instruction of his children 
had been conducted slowly, and instead of fostering the 
development of their minds, it had been kept back as 
much as possible by their teachers. The Tsarevitch 
lived in two small rooms — those which he was later on 
to inhabit for the first months that followed upon his 
marriage — ^in the Anitchkov Palace, and he stood 
always in considerable awe of his parents, perhaps 
more of his mother than of his father. He had no 
companions, no friends ; he had no love of reading, 
no artistic tastes, no interest in anything — ^not even in 
military matters. 

When he was eighteen years old he entered the regiment 
of the Hussars of the Guard quartered at Tsarskoye Selo, 
and that was his first step towards independence. But 
he was not given as attendants people able to lead him 
into a path such as that which usually opens before the 
heir to a crown. He made some friends for himself among 
the youngest officers of his regiment, and it must be owned 
these friends were for the most part nonentities, with no 
ideas beyond that of eating and drinking and making 

213 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

merry ; not one of them could either advise him or be 
of any use to him. 

The first time he was called upon to assert himself 
was during his journey round the world, after his majority. 
He then began to realise the advantages of his position, 
though I doubt very much whether he understood the 
duties which it entailed. His companions were his 
brother the Grand Duke George, who, however, had to 
give up the journey on account of his bad health ; his 
cousin Prince George of Greece, and a few officers from 
some crack regiments of the Guards, such as Prince Kot- 
choubey, a certain Captain Volkoff, and people of the 
same kind, with no recommendation except that of being 
nice fellows. 

With all his great qualities, Alexander HI. did not 
possess that of knowing how to direct the education of 
his children, and the Empress was similarly without this 
knowledge. She had been brought up in the simplest 
way possible, and could not understand that the rearing of 
her own sons and daughters ought to be conducted upon 
different lines from those under which she had been trained. 
It was said at one time that when a person of her near 
entourage asked her whether the time had not come when 
a governess ought to be chosen for the Grand Duchess 
Xenia, she replied : " But why ? We had no governess 
when we were children." 

The result was that though masters in plenty came 

to instruct the Tsarevitch and his brothers and sisters, 

they were nevertheless allowed to remain without that 

domestic training which alone gives to future Sovereigns, 

and people in high stations, the knowledge to fill their 

duties in the proper way, and to meet with dignity the 

responsibilities of their arduous position. 

Again, lessons, though they teach something, yet do 

214 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

not instruct those who receive them if they are not 
accompanied by an inteUigent training, and of this the 
Imperial children had none. They were given elementary 
notions of languages and arts, but I doubt very much 
whether to the present day any of them, the Sovereign 
not excluded, could write a letter in French without mis- 
takes. The love for learning was not inculcated ; reading 
serious books was never encouraged ; the discoveries of 
science were only explained as things which existed, but 
not as things capable of further development. In a word, 
the Tsarevitch received quite a middle-class training, and 
though he was afterwards sent on a long voyage for the 
purpose of improving his mind and acquainting him with 
the world, it is more than doubtful whether he derived 
any real benefit from it. 

As Grand Duke he was always timid, almost painfully 

so, and when by a strong effort of will he conquered that 

timidity, he came out with what he wanted to say in an 

almost brutal manner, which made him many enemies, 

*• often quite unjustly. * He never had any opinions of his 

own, except in purely personal matters, and he has none 

to this day. His want of mind makes him always endorse 

the judgments of the last person he speaks to. Like every 

spoilt child he has no heart, not because his is a bad 

nature, but because he is unable to feel any woes except 

his own, or to understand any wants when he himself 

has none. He is jealous of his authority, simply because 

he is selfish ; he tries to uphold it in a brutal manner, 

as in his famous speech after his accession to the Throne, 

when he warned his people not to indulge in senseless 

dreams. Nevertheless, he does nothing to make that 

authority respected, either at home or abroad. On the 

•"» contrary, when a fit of bad temper seizes upon him he 

is the first one to attack the principles it should be his 

215 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

duty to defend. This was manifested recently when he 
deprived his brother the Grand Duke Michael of his 
rights. He is utterly incapable of grasping the conse- 

'•quences of his own actions, does everything through 
impulse, and thinks that the best argument is to knock 
down one's adversaries. The only strength he recognises 
is the strength of the fist, and unfortunately this is not 
a strength which one respects in a century when machinery 
has taken the place of the hand. 

The Emperor is an exceedingly rancorous man. Instead 
of practising the principle which made Louis XII. of 
France so famous: that of not remembering as King the 
injuries he had received as Duke of Orleans, he thinks 
it his duty to chastise when he can every slight to which 
he considers he has been subjected either as Sovereign 
or as Heir to the Throne. He likes to be feared, but 
unfortunately he cannot even inspire respect, much less 
awe. He feels this, and not knowing how to fight against 

—the lack of consideration for his person, he becomes savage 
in his wrath, and, though in appearance a quiet, inoffensive 
little man, is capable of the utmost cruelty and hardness. 
He has no generous impulses, none of that enthusiasm of 
youth which induces one to do generous actions, even 
when they are not quite in accordance with prudence. 
He lives a mechanical life, devoid of interest and indif- 
ferent to everything that does not concern his immediate 
person. 

,• People have asked themselves whether the indiffer- 
ence he has shown in grave moments of his life has been 
affected or real. When the news was brought to him 
of that terrible disaster of Tsushima, which cost Russia 
her whole fleet and the loss of so many precious lives, 
the Emperor was playing tennis in the park of Tsarskoye 
Selo. He read the telegram that sounded the knell of 

216 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

so many hopes, and then quietly resumed his game, not 
a muscle of his face moving. Was it stoicism, indiffer- 
ence, or a strength of mind almost supernatural ? The 
world tried to guess, but was afraid to think that it arose 
from inability to understand the greatness of the catas- 
trophe. It is certain that no one has practised with 
greater success than he has done the famous maxim of 
La Rochefoucauld, that ** we bear with the greatest com- 
posure the misfortunes that do not concern us." Nicholas 
II. probably thought that the misfortime which had 
befaUen Russia on the day of Tsushima did not concern 
him personally, just as he did not realise that the catas- 
trophe of Khodinska, which made his Coronation so 
memorable, and cost the lives of nearly two thousand 

^ ^people, concerned him too. * On this last occasion he 
danced the whole of the night following it ; on the first 
one he went on playing tennis. The only difference 
between the two lay in the kind of amusement he 
indulged in. 

When he found himself confronted with Revolution 
it never once occurred to him that if he put his own 
person forward he might avert it. On that dreadful day 
in January which ended in such bloodshed, he never for 
one moment remembered the proud attitude of his ancestor, 
that other Nicholas who, on an almost similar occasion, 
came out of his palace and confronted the angry crowd, 
forcing the multitude, by the courage of his attitude, to 

* fall down upon their knees and submit. ' The only thought 
of Nicholas II. was to flee from danger and to leave to 
others the task of drowning in blood these first symptoms 
of rebellion. 

And when, later on, he called together the repre- 
sentatives of the different classes of his Empire, and in- 
augurated that first short-lived Duma, he reahsed neither 

217 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the solemnity of the act he had decided upon nor the 
importance it would have in history. 

I can see him, still, on that memorable day, reading 
his first speech in the White Hall of the Winter Palace. 
One could not help remembering Louis XVI., and think- 
ing of that May morning when the Etats-generaux assembled 
for the first time at Versailles. The same pomp charac- 
terised both : ladies in Court trains and with diamond 
diadems ; high officials in braided uniforms, gold lace, 
and plumes in their cocked hats ; and, in their black coats, 
the deputies of the lower classes, those whose efforts bring 
about the great crises that shake the life of nations. 

Did he think of this, that mighty Tsar who, in a mono- 
tonous voice, read his message to his people ? Did he 
examine the faces of these men standing before him, and 
try to guess whether a Mirabeau or a Vergniaud was 
among them ? Did the phantom of a Robespierre arise 
before his mind ? When the ceremony was over he re- 
marked that some of the caftans worn by the deputies 
from the rural classes were not new. It Wcls all that had 
attracted his attention. 

When travelling outside Russia I have often been 
asked why it was that both Nicholas II. and his Consort 
had made themselves so very unpopular in Russia. I 
must own I have found it very difficult to reply. That 
they are unpopular is unquestionable, but to explain the 
reason adequately would take volumes and still not initiate 
the outsider into the details of this difficult question. 
When the present Tsar ascended the throne he was sur- 
» rounded by universal sympathy. People who had never 
seen him, nor would ever see him, were kindly disposed 
towards him. Great things were expected of him, and 
it was hoped he would govern wisely, after the example 
which his father had given to him. 

218 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

Very soon, however, these hopes were dashed to the 
ground. The Emperor appeared as he really was — per- 
•sonal in everything, shallow-minded, weak, well-inten- 
tioned, but only in so far as it did not interfere with his 
own comfort, indifferent to all the necessities of his coun- 
try, and governed entirely by his sympathies or anti- 
pathies without considering anything else. His was a 
nature which would have won for him in private life the 
denomination of being a " good little fellow " ; but that 
is not enough for a Sovereign : it brings ridicule, the last 
thing that ought to dog the footsteps of a monarch. 

Whilst Alexander III. was living people knew that 
they could rely upon his word, that he had opinions of 
his own, and that, whether these were right or wrong, 
they were still opinions with whom others had to count. 
• After he had reigned a few months everyone who came 
into contact with Nicholas II. realised that he was the 
echo of everyone else's opinion except his own. 

The flexibility of his mind equalled its emptiness. It 
was very soon found out that he changed his ideas as often 
and with as many people as he discussed them. Though 
he fully thought he knew what constituted his duties as 
a Sovereign, yet it can be questioned whether he could 
have told what they were. 

§ » The vacillation of Nicholas II. is something quite 
surprising, and his ingratitude for services rendered to 
him sometimes astounding. When M. Stolypin, struck 
by an assassin's shot, expired after a few days of the most 
horrible sufferings, the Emperor was in Kieff. Common 
decency would have required him to be present at the 
obsequies of the Minister who had laid down his life for 
him. People expected it, public feeling required from 
him this manifestation of his sorrow ; but the Tsar coolly 
left Kiefi for the Crimea, not thinking it worth while to 

219 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

change anything in his plans in order to follow to his 
grave the statesman who, whatever may have been his 
faults, still had crushed the Revolution which at one 
time threatened to overturn the Throne of the Romanoff 
Dynasty. 

After Stolypin's death, M. Kokovtsov was appointed 
head of the Ministry, and when he arrived at Livadia 
to discuss with his Sovereign the line of action which he 
intended to take, he found Nicholas II. arranging some 
prints upon the walls and watching the effect of his work. 
i^When he saw the Prime Minister the first words that he 
said to him were : " Oh, I am glad that you have arrived. 
You can tell me whether this picture hangs well or not." 
And during the three days which M. Kokovtsov spent 
in Livadia he was unable to secure a serious conversation 
with his Sovereign, the latter always putting him off and 
at last telling him plainly that " he had come to Livadia 
to enjoy a holiday, and did not want to be bothered with 
business matters, which could be put off until he was 
back at Tsarskoye Selo." 

Since the day when he fled from St. Petersburg for 
fear of the mob who, led by the too famous Gapon, had 
wanted to present a petition to him, Nicholas II. has 
not inhabited the capital. He has confined himself in 
his Imperial castle of Tsarskoye Selo, where his Ministers 
come to him with their reports, and where he leads the 
life of a country gentleman with a limited circle of friends. 
He often goes to dine at the mess of the regiments quar- 
tered there, and remains with the officers late at night, 
drinking champagne and indulging in the smallest of 
small talk. The rest of the time he signs papers, the 
contents of which he mostly does not understand ; he 
shoots in his park ; and he worships his son, and has him 
brought up in the most detestable way possible, never 

220 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

allowing the child to be contradicted, and insisting upon 
all his caprices being satisfied at once, whatever their 
nature may be. 

^* During the long winter evenings the Emperor likes to 
turn tables, and in general is fond of arranging spirit- 
ualist seances with all the famous mediums that visit St. 
Petersburg. At one time a particular medium was sup- 
posed to enjoy his entire confidence, and to advise him, 
by means of table-turning, in the most complicated matters 
of State. 

The relations of Nicholas II. with the different 
members of his family are like everything else that he 
does — ^subject to many and various changes. When he 
ascended the Throne his mother was supposed to wield 
a considerable influence over him, and though that influ- 
ence is no longer as strong as it was, yet it is certain that 
he would not go against the Dowager Empress in anything 
she wanted to do. 

At one time he very much liked his uncle, the Grand 
Duke Vladimir, but after the marriage of the latter's 
son, the Grand Duke Cyril, with his cousin, the divorced 
Grand Duchess of Hesse, their relations underwent a 
change and quarrels took place. 

At present the Grand Duke Nicholas is persona grata 
with the Sovereign, perhaps on account of the brutality 
for which he is famous. 

He is also supposed to like his sisters, but these are 
of too little importance to be reckoned with as serious 
ifactors in the general situation. 

"^ No monarch has ever led such a secluded existence 
a^ the present Tsar. Life at Court, which used to be so 
bright and cheerful, is now sad and dull. Festivities 
there are none, except one reception on New Year's Day, 
at which the young Empress never appears, and even 

221 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

that did not take place in 191 3. Balls are no longer 
given, and foreign princes, when they arrive upon a visit 
to the Russian Court, are received at one or other of the 
country residences of the Sovereign. The Winter Palace, 
once so animated, has taken the appearance of a lumber 
room, and presents to the visitor an unkempt, forlorn, 
dirty, neglected sight. 

« No reign in Russia from the time of Peter the Great 
has been so unfortunate as the present one. Calamities 
have followed its course from the very beginning. The 
prestige of the country, which was so great when Alex- 
ander III. died, has been seriously impaired by the failure 
of the Japanese campaign and the Revolution that followed 
upon it. Discontent is rife and becoming stronger every 
day ; and though the financial prosperity of the country 
has certainly increased and reached hitherto unknown 
proportions, yet it has not done away with dissatisfac- 
tion. 

The most curious feature of this situation is the total 
lack of respect and consideration the public feels for the 
person of Nicholas II. and for his family. Formerly, 
Grand Dukes were considered as something quite apart 
from the rest of mankind, and as for the Emperor — one 
stood in awe of him, whether one loved him or not. Now, 
no one thinks about them at all ; they simply do not 
exist either in the public or the social sense. Respect has 
gone, and familiarity has not arrived. The presence of a 
member of the Imperial Family at a ball or party is no 
longer considered as an honour, and is not looked upon 
as a pleasure. 

No misfortune has been spared to Nicholas II., and 

had he only understood their importance, he would have 

been the most unhappy man in the whole of his vast Empire. 

* " War has humiliated his country, revolution has enfeebled 

222 



A Character Sketch of Nicholas 11. 

it, bad and tainted politics have dishonoured it, the blood 
of thousands of people who perished quite uselessly cries 
out for revenge, the tears of other thousands of unhappy 
creatures who languish in prisons or in hopeless exile 
appeal to Heaven for the chastisement of those in authority 
who sent them to a living death. Danger surrounds him, 
treason dogs his footsteps ; his nation dislikes and distrusts 
him ; his family is hostile to him ; his only brother is ban- 
ished, his mother is estranged from him, the wife of his 
bosom is the victim of a strange and mysterious malady; 
his only son, and the successor to his Throne and Crown, 
is smitten with an incurable illness. He has no friends, 
no disinterested advisers, no Ministers whose popularity in 
the country could add something to his own. And amid 
these ruins he stands alone, a solitary figure, the more 
pathetic because he does not realise the tragedy of his 
own fate. 



223 



CHAPTER III 

THE EMPRESS ALIX 

When the Princess Alix of Hesse left Darmstadt for the 
Crimea in order to be present at the death-bed of the 
Emperor Alexander III., there was one paper in Germany 
that dared to print what was spoken of in secret among 
many people, and to express some apprehension as to 
the fate that awaited the young bride in that distant 
country whither she was speeding in quest of an Imperial 
Crown. 

Her marriage was not popular among her own country 
folk. The Protestant feelings of the German people re- 
volted against the change of religion to which she would 
have to submit, and moreover there existed at that time 
a terrible prejudice in Hesse against Russia and every- 
thing that was Russian. The union which the Princess 
was about to contract was not popular, and, rightly or 
wrongly, it was firmly believed that she was being forced 
into it against her will ; that, left to herself, she would 
have preferred to end her days in the peace of the little 
Darmstadt Court than to live among the splendours of 
St. Petersburg. It was this feeling that she was about to 
be sacrificed to reasons of State which inspired for her a 
pity that was freely expressed in the article already re- 
ferred to and which is quoted hereunder : — 

" It is only with feelings of deep grief and pity that the 
German people can follow during her journey to Russia the 
gracious and beloved Princess Alix. I cannot banish from 

224 




ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA, TSARINA OF RUSSIA 

Photo: BoissoHHOs &> Eggkr^ St« Petersburg 



The Empress Alix 

my thoughts the secret forewarning that this Princess, who 
wept such bitter tears when she left Darmstadt, will have a 
life full of tears and bitterness on foreign soil. One need not 
be a prophet to foresee what conflict of thoughts and impressions 
will crowd within the heart of the august bride during these 
decisive weeks. Human law requires that a young girl follows 
the husband of her choice into the unknown. 

" But the German people cannot consider this marriage with 
joy nor with the charm of things where the heart alone is in 
question. The German people cannot forget the old saying 
of the poet : * Princes are only the slaves of their position ; 
they must not follow the leanings of their own hearts.* 

" If we cast a glance upon the Tsar fighting against the 
throes of death ; upon the * private life ' of the bridegroom ; 
upon the renunciation of the evangelical faith of the Princess, 
a faith to which she has belonged to this day, sincere and con- 
vinced as to its truth — ^we consider that only an heroic nature 
can overcome all these terrors. 

" After the German people had, until the last hour, reckoned 
on the rupture of this union, which cannot bring any happi- 
ness for the bride, so far as it is possible to judge of these things 
in advance, it only remains to feel ashamed that, in the country 
of liberty of conscience and of convictions, one can make to 
political considerations the sacrifice of one's faith and of one's 
heart. 

" One would learn with a deep joy in Germany that the 
Princess has found by the side of her husband real and lasting 
happiness. In the meanwhile we can only indulge in wishes 
for her welfare, and hope for the best in presence of this dark 
and uncertain future." 

Nevertheless, in spite of the wrench which she must 
have undergone when parting from her country and from 
her family and friends, the Princess Alix was not so sorry, 
after all, to be married. Her life had not been a happy 
one in her home circle. 

She had been left an orphan quite young, and when 
her father had died she had remained with her brother, 
and, so to speak, had kept house for him, spending also 
a good deal of her time in England with her grandmother, 

P Z9^ 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Queen Victoria. This unsettled kind of life had, as was 
to be expected, exercised an influence on the character 
of the young Princess, who had acutely felt the subordinate 
position into which events had thrust her. 

When her brother, the Grand Duke of Hesse, married, 
she did not get on with his consort, though the latter 
happened to be her own cousin, the daughter of her uncle 
the Duke of Coburg. 
"• All these circumstances had given an element of bitter- 
ness to a temper which from nature was haughty and not 
pliable. Many of those peculiarities which she developed 
in after life can also be ascribed to the difficult time of 
her early youth. Deprived when quite a baby of a mother's 
care, there had been no elements of softness introduced 
into her education, which, though carried out on strict 
lines, yet had not been so well attended to as should have 
been the case. Strong principles were instilled, but she 
was not taught that virtue must be amiable, especially 
in its contact with others and in its application to the 
events of existence. 

The question of her marriage with the Heir to the 
Throne of Russia had been mooted long before this mar- 
riage became an accomplished fact. The Grand Duke of 
Hesse had even brought her on a visit to the Russian 
Court when she was beginning to go out into Society, but 
though at the time it was whispered that she was destined 
to become the bride of the Tsarevitch, yet nothing came 
of this visit, which, on the contrary, left bitter memories 
to the Princess Alix. She did not like the off-hand way 
in which she was treated, not only by the Imperial Family 
but also by St. Petersburg Society to whom she did not 
appeal, either by her manners or by her personal appear- 
ance, which was not then so beautiful as it became 
ultimately. 

226 



The Empress Alix 

The idea of a German marriage was not popular in 
Russia, and it was hoped that the future Emperor would 
not choose his wife from that country. The Princess 
Alix was hurt at this latent animosity against her, which 
she felt rather than saw, and, of course, she resented it. 

When the question of her wearing the Imperial Crown 
of the Romanoffs came to be seriously discussed a few 
years later, the idea did not appeal to her. The brilliancy 
of the position did not dazzle her, and her whole soul 
revolted at the thought that she would have to live in 
a country which had left such unpleasant impressions on 
her mind. 

However, the advice of Queen Victoria, who was 
anxious for her granddaughter to accept the brilliant 
match thus offered to her, and the fact of the strained 
relations existing between her and her sister-in-law, the 
Grand Duchess of Hesse, with whom she was obliged to 
live, combined to prevail upon her, and she finally con- 
sented to become the bride of Nicholas Alexandrovitch. 

At first it was intended to surround their nuptials 
with all the pomp and festivities which usually attend such 
occasions. But the fatal illness of the Emperor Alexander 
changed all these plans ; and when the Princess Alix 
arrived in Russia, alone and with the utm^ost speed, she 
knew that she would not have to undergo the sometimes 
painful apprenticeship to the position of an Empress, 
which normally would have been the case, but at once 
would assume in her new country the position of the first 
lady in the land. She felt dazed and stunned by the 
turn events had taken. During the months that had 
elapsed since her engagement to the Tsarevitch she had 
tried to infuse some affectionate comradeship into her 
relations with him and to get to know him ; she but 

partially succeeded. Both were timid, both were embar- 

227 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

^^^rassed in the position in which they found themselves 
placed, and both felt that theirs was more a union of con- 
venience than one of affection. Their ideas were totally 
different, their bringing-up had been conducted on quite 
different lines ; but they had one point in common : an 
* exalted opinion of their own importance and their own 
capacities. This was to constitute the best bond between 
them. 

When the Princess Alix first reached Russia, she had 
the best intentions to try to win the affections of the 
people who surrounded her. Her conduct during those 
first trying days was perfect, but she displayed no spon- 
taneity in the care in which she performed what she con- 
sidered to be her duties. She did not utter one single 
word that could have been badly construed ; she did not 
overlook any of the small details of Russian Court etiquette, 
and she was respectful with those relatives of her future 
husband whose age and position commanded respect, whilst 
amiable with the others. But she forbore to express her 
private opinions, and whilst strictly polite with the people 
she met, she was neither frank nor familiar. The haughti- 
ness which she did not attempt to hide was attributed to 
timidity, and, owing to the peculiarly sad circumstances 
that attended her first steps in the country which was 
about to become her own, the public viewed with indulg- 
ence all her actions, and were loud in their praise of her. 
They repeated all the kind words she was heard to utter ; 
they admired the deference with which she spoke of the 
Dowager Empress and the respectful attitude she assumed 
towards her. 

When, after the funeral of Alexander III., the arrange- 
ments for the marriage of Nicholas were discussed, and 
the question was broached as to where the Emperor and 
his bride were to live whilst the apartments in the Winter 

2aS 



The Empress AHx 

Palace were being got ready, the Princess Alix declared 
at once that they had better stop at the Anitchkov Palace 
with the Empress Mother, adding " that it was not the 
time when mamma ought to be left with another empty 
place at her dining- table." She cheerfully seemed to allow 
her mother-in-law to keep that first place which had been 
hers for so long, and in its affection and tenderness her 
whole demeanour towards her was touching in the extreme. 
Alas, alas ! these halcyon days were not to last long. 
The Court mourning for the late Tsar had not come to 
an end when the public began to criticise the young 
Empress, and the enthusiasm of the first months cooled 
down and gradually gave place to hard judgments 
and unpleasant remarks. Alexandra Feodorovna had 
not the gift to make herself lovable nor to inspire 
sympathy. * She developed a harsh, cruel temper, with 
fits of caprice worthy of a spoilt child. She did not like 
many things which she found were usual in Russia, and 
she made no secret of her desire to reform them. She 
contrived to offend the very people she should have con- 
ciliated, and in consequence her actions, contrasting as 
they did with those of the Dowager Empress, were 
severely judged and criticised. For instance, though it 
is etiquette at the Russian Court for ladies to kiss the 
Sovereign's hand, Marie Feodorovna and her predecessors 
had never thought of allowing them to do so, and it was 
only debutantes on their presentation of whom this 
was required. With married ladies, however, the 
Empress invariably prevented them from performing 
that act of homage. But when Alexandra Feodorovna 
began to receive St. Petersburg Society, she extended her 
hand for the traditional kiss and seemed to impose it. 
She mostly granted her audiences standing and in the 
stiffest manner possible, never making a distinction where 

229 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

she ought to have done so. This incensed people against 
her, and all the dowagers who had come out of their retire- 
ment to be presented to her upon her marriage bitterly 
resented the haughty, disdainful way in which she received 
them. They immediately became her enemies and never 
spared criticism, which was the more unfortunate because 
there w^as much in her manner to be criticised. 

Among other unpleasant gifts the young Empress 
had that of calling a spade a spade, and of giving an 
explanation of the reason which she thought she had for 
doing such and such a thing. She determined, for instance, 
to invite to her balls only ladies with unblemished repu- 
tations, and in order to prevent any black sheep enter- 
ing her drawing-rooms she listened to every possible 
gossip concerning the Society of the capital. After weigh- 
ing this more or less carefully, she had the list of invita- 
tions for the next Court ball brought to her and scratched 
out with her own hand the names of all those whom she 
thought fit to exclude. The result was disastrous. Only 
a few guests, elderly ladies, were present. St. Petersburg 
was incensed, and loud in its indignation. Indeed, the 
scandal assumed such proportions that at last the Em- 
peror decided to allow his mother to look through, as she 
used to do formerly, the lists of the people invited to the 
Palace. The pretext given for this action was that his 
wife was not yet sufficiently acquainted with the ins and 
outs of the Society of the capital. 

But this measure did not appease the wrath of the 
slighted ones ; it only added to the popularity of the 
Dowager Empress, and to the dislike for her daughter- 
in-law, and at the next New Year's reception at the 
Winter Palace very few ladies, not obliged to do so by 
virtue of their official position, were present. The young 

Empress was boycotted, and nothing since has effaced 

230 



The Empress Alix 

that first impression which she so unfortunately contrived 
to create around her person. 

One must, however, say one thing. Alexandra Feodo- 
rovna has had plenty of bad luck in her life. I shall relate 
one instance as an example. It is very well known that 
the Empress possesses but a very imperfect knowledge of 
the French language. Now French is spoken more than 
any other language in St. Petersburg, and the lingual 
mistakes of Alexandra Feodorovna were seized upon with 
avidity by her enemies and circulated widely everywhere. 
One fine day a very old dowager, who by virtue of her 
deceased husband's position was one of the leaders of 
Society and of the official world, decided to emerge from 
the retirement in which she had lived for a great many 
years, and to ask for the favour of a presentation to the 
young Sovereign. The latter received her standing, as 
she usually did ; this aroused the ire of the old 
lady, who was further incensed when she saw that she 
was evidently expected to kiss the hand that was by no 
means graciously extended to her. With such a prelude 
the conversation could not be anything but stiff. At 
last, seeing that all her efforts at small talk met with no 
success, the lady asked the Empress whether she did not 
find the climate of St. Petersburg very trying. " Yes," 
replied the Sovereign, " but " — and here the phrase must 
be repeated in French as it was uttered, or it would lose its 
point — " Vautomne dernier j'ai pu me promener tous les 
jours dans le Crime.'* The unfortunate creature had liter- 
ally translated her phrase from the German, in which 
the Crimea is called " der Krim *' ; but one can imagine 
what laughter such an utterance, repeated all round with 
alacrity, aroused, and how it was discussed and com- 
mented upon everywhere. 

On another occasion this ignorance of the French lan- 

231 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

guage was to lead the Empress into trouble. One day she 
had to write to a certain Ambassadress, and in doing so 
she made several mistakes in the spelling of words. 
The recipient of the letter, who did not count kindness 
among her many qualities, showed this note to several of 
her intimate friends, and these, of course, carried it farther. 
All these things were but trivial, and had Alexandra Feo- 
dorovna succeeded in making herself liked they would have 
remained unnoticed ; but under the existing circumstances 
they were made the subject of every possible kind of attack. 
At last it became a case of " Give a dog a bad name and 
hang it," and even the virtues of the Empress and her good 
qualities were turned into opportunities to discredit her. 

She was not amiable or conciliating among her imme- 
diate entourage, and her ladies-in-waiting had to put up 
with a lot from her imperious temper and her cold and 
disdainful manner. She did not forgive them the slight- 
est failing in their duties, and treated them with high 
disdain.* She never allowed them to sit down in her pre- 
sence, even expecting them to stand whilst reading aloud to 
her. They were always obliged, also, to be ready in full 
dress to await her commands, no matter whether she 
required their services or not. 

One must be fair and say that the young Empress 
encountered many difficulties in her daily life. First and 
foremost among them was the subordinate position to 
which she found herself relegated. The Dowager Empress 
was intensely popular and immensely liked, and, more- 
over, did not like to play second fiddle where she had 
reigned for a number of years. She thrust aside her 
daughter-in-law in a most unceremonious way, and 
instead of drawing the latter's attention to her mistakes 
she magnified them and used them to keep hold of both 
authority and position. 

232 



The Empress Alix 

Being at the head of all the educational and charit- 
able institutions in the country, she refused to delegate 
the slightest part of this arduous work to Alexandra Feo- 
dorovna, who, on her part, was eager to assert herself 
in all matters relating to good works, and who, despair- 
ing of being able to do so in an effectual manner, tried 
to invent means to exercise her activity in that direction. 
She opened a kind of working-room for making clothes 
for poor children, and began by personally attending to 
the administration of this institution, calling upon ladies 
belonging to the upper classes to attend the weekly re- 
unions of the committee, over which she presided. At 
first the thing took, and the new Ouvroir, as it was called 
at the Winter Palace, became a rendezvous for Society; 
but when the Court left the capital to settle permanently 
at Tsarskoye Selo, Society took no further interest in the 
charitable work. When Nicholas II. and his consort were 
crowned the unpopularity of Alexandra Feodorovna was 
already a recognised fact, and it came into evidence dur- 
ing the Moscow festivities, when the difference between the 
reception she received and that accorded to her mother- 
in-law could not but have impressed itself upon her, as it 
did upon all those who were present on this occasion in the 
old capital. At that moment the Empress, by a strong 
effort, might still have changed the impression of dislike 
which she inspired, and which w^as aggravated by the 
fact that instead of bringing into the world the much- 
hoped-for son, that all Russia was expecting, she had 
given birth to a daughter. The breach was further 
, widened by her attitude when the Khodinsky catastrophe 
took place. Had she shown some heart and commisera- 
tion for the victims sentiment would have changed, but 
on the same day that it occurred she attended a ball 
at the French Embassy, and danced as if nothing had 

233 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

happened ; and during the days which followed upon that 
terrible episode she never once went to a hospital to visit 
the sick and wounded. This apparent indifference, per- 
haps, arose from the fact that she did not care to appear 
to imitate the Dowager Empress — ^whose first impulse 
had been to rush to the bedside of the wounded — or per- 
haps, also, she may have felt afraid of interfering with 
the directions given by her mother-in-law. Nevertheless, 
it occasioned bitter comment among the public, and she 
won for herself the reputation of being a heartless woman. 

It must not be supposed that this dislike was un- 
known to the Empress. On the contrary, she was very 
well aware of it, and instead of inspiring in her the wish 
to do something to allay it, it made her harder even than 
she was by nature. She bitterly resented what she con- 
sidered to be an awful injustice, in view of the good inten- 
tions with which she knew she had come to Russia. This 
feeling that she was misunderstood inspired her with the 
proud resolution to have as little as possible to do with the 
nation who had misjudged her so thoroughly, and whose 
prejudices against her she was too disdainful even to 
attempt to dissipate. 

Misfortune seemed to be her lot. Four tim.es her 
hopes of giving an Heir to the Crown were brought to 
naught as one girl after another was born to her, adding 
to her blighted life the knowledge that in this respect 
Russia was bitterly disappointed. Her relations with 
her husband were affectionate, but not tender^ and she 
never knew how to manage him, or to develop by her 
sympathy the best side of his nature ; her manner towards 
him, also, was not what it ought to have been. She treated 
him more like a naughty boy than like a monarch whose 
first subject she was. In the early days of their marriage 
it was related that one evening, when they had a few people 

234 



The Empress Alix 

to tea at Tsarskoye Selo, feeling tired and desiring to 
withdraw, she turned towards the Emperor, and said 
to him in English, a language always spoken in the 
Imperial Family, " Now come, my boy ; it is time for me 
to go to bed." One may imagine the stupefaction which 
this phrase caused among a people accustomed to all the 
rigidity of etiquette which had always ruled the Court 
of St. Petersburg. They could not understand how an 
Empress could forget herself so far in the presence of 
others as to address the Tsar of All the Russias as " my 
boy." 

All this appears at first sight insignificant, but in 
reality it sounded the knell of the respect in which the 
monarch had been held to that day, and it destroyed a 
great deal of his prestige, rousing at the same time a 
furious indignation against Alexandra Feodorovna, among 
all the old adherents of the autocratic regime, which, un- 
known to herself, she has done so much to shatter. 
^* The disasters of the Japanese War left a deep impres- 
sion on the mind of Alexandra Feodorovna, and added 
to the sadness of a naturally sad disposition ; she began 
to tremble, not only for the safety of her Throne, but also 
for that of the son who at last, after many weary years 
of waiting, was born to her in the midst of unparalleled 
disasters. On that child she concentrated all her affec- 
tions, and for him she trembled constantly. Before he 
came into the world her nerves already had begun to 
become affected. She had unfortunately allowed her- 
self to be drawn into a circle of people, among whom the 
'•Grand Duke Nicholas and his wife were the most pro- 
minent, who were addicted to spiritualistic practices. A 
medium became an important personage at Court, and 
succeeded in imposing his influence even on the Emperor, 
who went so far as to consult him on matters of State. 

«35 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

The Empress's nerves are certainly not in a sound 
condition, and this fact ought to be taken into considera- 
tion when thinking or speaking about her. The horrors 
of the Revolution left a deep impression upon her mind ; 
she has no fatalism in her character, and lives in dread 
of seeing her children and husband murdered. Her 
highly strung nature takes more seriously even than 
they deserve certain circumstances which surround her, 
and she has not enough command of herself to meet with 
courage whatever fate lies before her. Not understand- 
ing that Sovereigns must pay with their persons for the 
privileges of their position in the world, she spends her 
time in imploring her husband to put himself and his 
family into safety instead of urging him to come for- 
ward and to confront whatever danger lies before him. 

When it was said that the workmen of the capital were 
marching towards the Winter Palace and wanted to see 
their Tsar, Alexandra Feodorovna begged her husband to 
fly to Tsarskoye Selo for safety, and she has never wanted 
to return to the capital since that fateful day. 

Owing to her nervousness the breach between the 
Sovereign and his people has become complete, and the 
estrangement that divides them has assumed proportions 
that can only become wider and wider as time goes by. 
For many people now the Emperor and Empress appear 
as very distant beings, something like the Mikado of 
Japan was before the reforms effected in that country raised 
it to the level of a European nation. In Society the 
Imperial Family serves only as a subject of gossip and 
nothing else, and it must be owned that never so much 
as at the present time has it given reason for it. 

More and more the Empress shows her dislike for the 
Society of St. Petersburg, and whenever she can do it 
she flies away to the Crimea, which is the one place she 

236 



The Empress Alix 

cares for. She has had a new palace built there to replace 
the simple cottage where Alexander III. breathed his last, 
and she spends months in it, far from everybody, but 
showing herself more amiable than anywhere else to the 
few people privileged to see her. There also she entertains 
in a quiet way, and has even been known to give a dance 
for her daughters, which she witnessed from the door of 
a room near the one in which the festivity took place. 
She did not mix with her guests, but she looked at them, 
and this was already spoken of as a surprising event, so 
Mittle had she been seen before. The great preoccupation 
of the Empress is her son ; no child has ever been so spoiled 
as has the little Grand Duke, and no child has ever been 
brought up in a worse manner. Were he destined to 
live, it would be terrible to contemplate the future of 
Russia under his guidance ; as it is, one can afford to 
pity him, and to pity his parents, for whom he represents 
so much. But I shall have more to say on that subject 
later on. 

Some people say that Alexandra Feodorovna is mad, 
and that her madness takes an erotic direction, which 
accounts for the seclusion in which she is kept, and which 
is given out to be of her own desire. I do not believe 
in this rumour, which perhaps is circulated in order to 
account for her vagaries and extravagances of behaviour ; 
but what I do think is that she is a woman very unfortunate 
in her life and in her friendships, who, dissatisfied by 
nature, always yearns for the impossible. 



337 



CHAPTER IV 

THE IMPERIAL FAMILY TO-DAY 

The Imperial Family of Russia at the present day is in a 
position far different from what it was before the Revolu- 
tion, and even before the accession of the present Sovereign. 

Up to the death of Alexander III., Grand Dukes and 
Grand Duchesses were very important personages indeed. 
Their presence at an entertainment constituted a social 
event, and it was only at very high and lofty houses that 
they condescended to attend. Now things are changed ; 
the Grand Dukes have lost their prestige, though they 
are still the subjects of sharp criticisms on the part of 
the gossiping public. 

The present Imperial Family is no longer so numerous 
as it was. All the brothers of the late Tsar have died, 
with the exception of the Grand Duke Paul, who lives 
for the most part abroad, at his house in Paris, with his 
morganatic wife, the Countess of Hohenfelsen. At first this 
marriage created an enormous stir, and the Emperor 
deprived his uncle of his rank in the Army as well as 
of that part of his income which came from the Imperial 
domain, ordering it to be paid for the benefit of his children 
by his first wife, the Princess Alexandra of Greece. 

Very soon after settling in Paris the Grand Duke 
had made for himself a brilliant position. The Countess 
also was not dissatisfied at the enforced exile. She queened 
it from the very first in Paris, where her house became a 
rendezvous of the Russian colony, and where she could 

238 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

freely see those members of the Imperial Family who came 
for a holiday in the gay capital, or who had settled in 
it permanently, like the Grand Duke Alexis, who, after 
the Japanese War, had preferred to retire to the banks 
of the Seine rather than remain on those of the Neva. 

The Grand Duke Alexis had another attraction there : 
it was his friend Mademoiselle Balleta, a French actress. She 
had a very pretty house somewhere in the vicinity of the 
Champs Elys^es, not far from the apartment which the 
Grand Duke occupied in the Avenue Gabriel. It was at 
her house that Alexis Alexandrovitch spent most of his 
time, and it was there he was taken ill with the attack of 
pneumonia that carried him off to the grave at a relatively 
early age. 

After the death of the Grand Duke Alexis, the Emperor 
relented in regard to his brother, and the Grand Duke 
Paul was allowed to return to Russia and was restored 
to his former rank in the Army. He did not abuse the 
liberty given, and has only been seen at the Court of 
St. Petersburg on rare occasions, such as the marriage of 
his daughter the Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna with 
Prince William of Sweden, and the celebration of the 
Borodino centenary. 

Strange to say, his children are on good terms with 
the Countess of Hohenfelsen, whom not only do they visit 
but at whose house they stay during their frequent 
visits to Paris. The Grand Duke Dmitry Paulovitch, her 
stepson, is even credited with a great affection for her. 
He is a very nice young man, and it is openly said in St. 
Petersburg that both the Emperor and Empress want 
him to marry their eldest daughter, the Grand Duchess 
Olga Nicolaievna. There have even been rumours 
that the Tsar had the intention to change the order of 
succession to the Crown by issuing an ukase passing it, 

239 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

in the event of the death of his only son, the present 
Tsarevitch, to his eldest daughter and her consort, if the 
Grand Duke Dmitry Paulovitch. 

I do not personally believe in that last rumour. 
Nicholas II. would hardly be able to enforce such a coup 
d'etat, and from the other side the Grand Duke Dmitry 
himself, if we are to pay any attention to all that is said, 
is not at all inclined to wed the Grand Duchess Olga. If, 
however, such an event happened, and the order of suc- 
cession was changed, serious internal troubles would be sure 
to take place, in which the Imperial Family would suffer. 

At present, failing the little Tsarevitch, the brother of 
the Emperor, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, 
would be the legitimate Heir to the Crown. When the boy 
was born a special manifesto was issued by the Emperor 
appointing his brother regent in the case of a minority. 
Until then he had occupied the position of Heir Apparent, 
though he had not been granted the title of Tsarevitch 
which his brother George had borne until his death, perhaps 
because the Empress had objected to it, having hopes some 
day of bearing a son of her own. 

The Grand Duke was a meek young man, whose educa- 
tion had been very much neglected, who had neither the 
wish to lend himself to any intrigue, nor even the desire 
to do so. He was one of those indifferent beings who are 
rather sorry than otherwise to be put into responsible 
positions, and who, beyond all things, would like to be 
able to lead the quiet life of a very rich private person. 
When quite young he had fallen violently in love with 
Mademoiselle Kossikovsky, the lady-in-waiting of his sister 
the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, who married Prince 
Peter of Oldenburg. Mademoiselle Kossikovsky was not 
pretty but clever and pleasant, and she gave him all her 
heart. The romance lasted for some time, and the possibility 

240 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

A marriage between the two came to be seriously dis- 
cussed in Society. But the Empress Marie, who would 
not hear of it, interfered, and as Mademoiselle Kossikovsky 
did not acquire enough influence over Michael to induce 
him to go against his mother's wishes, or those of the 
Emperor, the young lady had to give up her lover and 
relinquish her appointment in disgrace. 

Left to himself, and not knowing to whom he could 
confide his woes, the miserable young man began to fre- 
quent the house of one of the officers of the regiment in 
which he was serving, the Gatschina Cuirassiers. That 
officer had a wife, who, though not extraordinarily pretty, 
was clever, pleasant, very cultivated, and with a past, 
inasmuch as she had divorced a first husband before marry- 
ing her present one. The friendship with Michael Alexan- 
drovitch ripened, and he confided to her all his sorrows, and 
how badly he considered he had been treated in the matter 
of his affection for Mademoiselle Kossikovsky. Later on their 
relations became still more intimate, for the lady, having 
secured a second divorce, became the wife of the Grand Duke. 

The scandal w^as immense, especially as the event 
occurred just at the time when the illness of the little 
Tsarevitch seemed again to open the question of the suc- 
cession to the Throne. Every means was tried to bring 
about a divorce. But Michael Alexandrovitch was the 
soul of honour, and declared that nothing would or could 
make him forsake the mother of his children. 

Then occurred an incident that struck the whole of 
Russia with amazement and dismay, Nicholas II. issued 
a manifesto to the nation in which he deprived his only 
brother of the functions of regent in the event of th« 
future Sovereign being a minor at the time of his suc- 
cession. In addition he sent an ukase to the Senate by 
which he made himself guardian of his brother, thus re- 
Q 241 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ducing Michael to the condition of a minor, and taking away 
from him the use and administration of his private fortune, 
which was placed under the administration of the private 
estates of the Sovereign. 

This last measure would not have aroused criticism in 
public opinion, but the act of degrading the Grand Duke 
to the position of a madman or of a baby six years old 
was very freely commented upon. It was absolutely 
against the law of the land, which does not admit such an 
infringement of personal rights, and a reversion to an 
era of Russian history which all its rulers in modern times 
had tried to induce the country to forget. 

Save a few flatterers, no one was heard to applaud 
this unheard-of decision. 

The Grand Duke retired with his wife to Cannes in the 
south of France, and settled there as a private gentle- 
man, calling himself M. Brassov, which is the name of his 
property in the Government of Orel. It seems that before 
the storm broke out he had transferred a large part of his 
fortune abroad, so that he is financially able to maintain 
his old position in Society. It is probable that very soon 
circumstances will induce his brother to change his mind 
and restore him to his former position, for it is one of the 
misfortunes of Nicholas II. not to persist in any action that 
he takes, especially in cases where his family is concerfted. 

The Grand Duke Cyril, cousin of Nicholas, stands next 
to Michael Alexandrovitch in the order of succession. 
Cyril, who was nearly drowned in the wreck of the Petro- 
pavlovsk, which cost the life of Admiral Makaroff and of 
so many brave officers, had been for years in love with 
his cousin Victoria, the daughter of the Duke of Coburg 
and the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. 
She was married to the brother of the Empress Alexandra 
Feodorovna, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and it was during 

242 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

the celebration of their nuptials that her own engagement 
with the Tsarevitch was officially announced to the world. 
This marriage of Princess Victoria did not turn out a 
happy one ; the tempers of the Royal couple were not 
compatible ; after some years of a stormy union they 
parted. After the death of Queen Victoria, who had 
violently opposed the idea, they were divorced. The 
ex-Grand Duchess of Hesse returned to her mother's 
house, and her husband married again, so that nothing 
apparently existed to prevent her from doing the same ; 
and when the Grand Duke Cyril, after the Japanese War, 
asked her to become his wife, no one wondered that she 
accepted him, and everyone who knew her wished her joy. 
But the Empress Alexandra was not of that number. 
It was freely spoken of in Court circles that she implored 
the Emperor not only not to allow the union, under the 
pretext that the Orthodox Church did not permit of mar- 
riages between first cousins, but, when it became an accom- 
plished fact, to banish the Grand Duke Cyril from St. 
Petersburg and to deprive him of his rank and fortune. 
The story goes on to say that the order for banishment 
and confiscation was actually issued by Nicholas, but 
that the Grand Duke Vladimir, who was still alive, was 
not a character to stand any slight done either to him 
or to his children. Accordingly he went at once to see 
his nephew Nicholas, and told him that he had no right 
to act in the way he did, as the marriage that his cousin 
had contracted was perfectly honourable, and a suitable 
one too, adding that he would have liked to know what his 
father the Emperor Alexander II. would have said had 
he heard that his own granddaughter was refused an 
entry into the Russian Imperial Family, to which she be- 
longed by the right of birth, before even she had been 
married to one of its members. In face of this outburst 

243 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the Emperor at once retracted, restoring Cyril Vladimiro- 
vitch to all his rights, only insisting on his spending some 
years abroad in order to allow the scandal to blow over. 

After the death of the Grand Duke Vladimir, which 
quickly followed his eldest son's marriage, the latter has 
returned to Russia and spends part of each winter in St. 
Petersburg, together with his wife and their two daughters. 
The couple are frequently seen in public places, and the 
Grand Duchess, being fond of dancing and society, fre- 
quents the houses of prominent hostesses of the capital, 
and has succeeded in making herself very popular every- 
where. She has also achieved the difficult feat of remain- 
ing on very good terms with her mother-in-law, the Grand 
Duchess Vladimir. 

The latter, about whom I have already spoken at 
length, has not considerably changed since the days of her 
youth. Her salon has retained its character, and her 
intimate friends are still chosen among the ranks of le 
monde ou on s'amuse rather than among the old Russian 
aristocracy, which has never taken kindly to her. After 
having lived with her husband upon terms of an amicable 
friendship and companionship, she has developed into an 
inconsolable widow, and has eagerly continued the work 
that Vladimir had undertaken in his lifetime. By her own 
wish she has been appointed by the Emperor to the Pre- 
sidency of the Academy of Fine Arts, and she interests 
herself in the artistic movements and progress of the 
country. She still spends part of the year in Paris, made 
much of among the Faubourg St. Germain, and not dis- 
daining to frequent Society in financial and foreign circles, 
especially the American set that has made its home on 
the banks of the Seine. A little over a decade ago, 
when she entered the Greek Church, she had always 
assumed the role of champion of the Protestant faith 

«44 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

in Russia. This is but one instance of her erratic nature, 
and in directions other than her sympathies and tastes it is 
displayed. She is the only Grand Duchess of the old 
school left, and she certainly knows how to main- 
tain, when it is necessary, the dignity of her position, 
and is really grande dame in her manner and her way of 
receiving those admitted into her presence. Because of 
this she has won for herself a certain position in St. Peters- 
burg, and if she is not universally liked she is still con- 
sidered, and her judgments taken into account. 

Besides the Grand Duke Cyril, she has one daughter, 
the Grand Duchess Hel^ne, married to Prince Nicholas 
of Greece, who only visits Russia occasionally, and two 
other sons. The youngest, the Grand Duke Andrew, is 
unfortunately very delicate and suspected of the posses- 
sion of weak lungs, which oblige him to winter in Switzer- 
land. The second son, the Grand Duke Boris, who was a 
member of the Imperial staff, participated in the war with 
Japan as an officer of infantry. In 191 2 he was promoted 
to be Colonel. He represented the Tsar at the coronation 
of King George V. 

Of the two sisters of the Emperor the elder one, the 
Grand Duchess Xenia, married her cousin, the Grand 
Duke Alexander Michaelovitch. They had a very numer- 
ous family, and after the accession of the present Emperor 
enjoyed great influence. The Grand Duke, clever, like 
all .his mother's children, but of an intriguing disposi- 
tion, managed to acquire a considerable amount of the 
confidence of his brother-in-law, Nicholas II. 

Unfortunately, he did not know how to use it, and suc- 
cumbed to intrigues directed against his person. These 
found food in the disorder in which everything belong- 
ing to the Navy, in which he served, was discovered to be 
during the Japanese War. The Grand Duke took offence 

34s 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

at certain remarks directed against him, and, under the 
pretext that the bad state of his health obliged him to 
winter abroad, he left Russia with his family and settled 
in Biarritz, where he has almost continually resided since. 
There he became acquainted with a certain set, in which 
the American element predominated, and report says 
that both the Grand Duke and his wife live in circum- 
stances unfettered by the exigencies of etiquette, which, 
although giving rise to no open scandal, nevertheless 
afford much food for gossip. Neither one nor the other, 
it is said, takes any trouble to hide his or her likes or dis- 
likes, and they live more the life of a fashionable couple 
than that of members of an Imperial House. 

The \70unger sister of the Emperor, the Grand Duchess 
Olga Alexandrovna, is the most popular member of his 
family. She is not pretty by any means, but pleasant, 
clever, amiable, good-natured, and very much in love 
with gaiety in any shape or form. She was married when 
quite young to Prince Peter of Oldenburg, a distant 
cousin. This was partly by the wish of the Dowager 
Empress, who wanted to keep her daughter in Russia, and 
partly was influenced by her long-standing friendship for 
the Princess Eugenie, the mother of Prince Peter. 

The marriage was not viewed with favour by the 
public. It was known that the Prince was suffering from a 
chronic disease which left little hope of ever being cured. 
It was also felt that the Grand Duchess, without taking 
into account her own tastes or desires, was being sacri- 
ficed to considerations of fortune and position which were 
bound to bring her future unhappiness. Accordingly she 
was very generally pitied. But Olga Alexandrovna is 
one of those natures that look out for the best in every 
situation, no matter how trying it may be, and very soon 

she succeeded in arranging for herself a pleasant existence 

246 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

in which her husband had the role of a good friend and 
nothing else. She is the only member of the Imperial 
Family who lives entirely the life of a simple mortal, going 
out walking alone, paying visits to her friends, and never 
troubling about the exigencies of Court etiquette. Being 
extremely pleasant, she has won for herself a popularity 
which extends to all classes, and her merry laugh brings 
joy wherever it is heard. Artistic in her tastes, she paints 
most remarkably, and interests herself in all subjects in 
which art is concerned. Lately, however, an ugly scandal 
in connection with her has arisen ; it has been whispered 
that, having fallen in love with an officer she used to meet 
at her sister's house, she wanted to divorce Prince Peter. 
It was also said that the Emperor, incensed at the very 
thought, had absolutely refused his consent to such a 
step, and that consequently Olga Alexandrovna fell into 
disgrace both with her mother and her brother. True 
or not, the facts were current gossip in St. Petersburg 
lately. They did not, however, detract from the popu- 
larity enjoyed by the young Grand Duchess. 

The Grand Duke Constantine, cousin of the Tsar, 
lives a very quiet life, together with his wife and their 
numerous children. He is generally esteemed for his 
high moral character, and during his whole life has care- 
fully abstained from taking any part in or even expressing 
an opinion on, politics or any subject concerning them. His 
eldest son is married to the Princess Helena of Servia, 
and his daughter has wedded a simple gentleman. Prince 
Bagration Moukhransky, the scion of a noble Caucasian 
family, without fortune and of no position whatever. The 
marriage, which was a pure love affair, is the first examxple 
of a member of the Imperial Family allying herself to 
one outside the Imperial circle, and when it took place it 
excited a good deal of comment. 

a47 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

The sons of the late Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievitch, 
also, do not impose themselves on the notice of the public 
The eldest, the Grand Duke Nicholas, is an exceedingly 
clever man, who has written several valuable historical 
books. Though having in his young days afforded food 
for ill-natured gossip, with increasing age he has settled 
down into a serious personage, who occupies himself in 
studying the rich collection of documents which abound 
among the many possessions of our Imperial Family. His 
second brother, the Grand Duke Michael, lives chiefly 
abroad since his marriage with the Countess Torby, and 
another one, George, is the husband of Princess Marie of 
Greece, a pleasant little person, whose numerous frailties 
of conduct are rather the subject of amusement than of 
criticism. 

I have left for the last the most important of our 
Grand Dukes, Nicholas Nicholaievitch. He is the only 
member of our reigning House who can boast of being in 
possession of the absolute confidence of the Sovereign. He 
believes that his destiny is to uphold the principle of 
autocracy. 

When still quite young, he had been in love with a 
charming woman, Madame Bourenine ; but later he 
married Princess Stanza, one of the daughters of the then 
Prince of Montenegro. Princess Stanza was formerly the 
wife of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, but the union turned out 
to be a most unhappy one. Accordingly, by the influence 
of the Empress, it is said, a divorce was arranged between 
the Leuchtenberg couple, and Nicholas Nicholaievitch, 
who was very ambitious, saw the possibility, through 
marriage with Princess Stanza, the favourite of the Em- 
press, of becoming the chief adviser of the Tsar. He 
became the husband of the Empress's favourite, and very 
soon afterwards a prominent personage among the coun- 

248 



The Imperial Family To-Day 

sellers and the intimate friends of Nicholas II. He is 
much given to the study of spiritualism and occultism, 
and is credited with first interesting the Emperor and 
Empress in these directions. He is commander-in-chief 
of the garrison of St. Petersburg, and in case of another 
Revolution he it is who would have the task of quieting 
it, or rather ol crushing it. Popular belief inclines to the 
conclusion that, failing to learn from the lessons of his- 
tory, he cannot take into consideration the change that 
the course of time brings into the life of nations as well 
as of individuals. He does not realise, therefore, that 
even autocracy must undergo some kind of transforma- 
tion and suit itself to modern ideas and modern times. 
The general feeling is that, put face to face with a seri- 
ous political complication, he would not be able to meet 
it otherwise than with the help of an executioner ready to 
strike all those who would not submit, -or who even desired 
to discuss with him the best means to solve the problem. 
He has worn uniform all his life, and believes in the sword 
that can strike. Unfortunately, blows are no argument. 

It is to the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch that 
probably the destinies of the Empire will be entrusted by 
Nicholas II. in case his son should survive him whilst 
still a minor. 

The manifesto which deprived the Grand Duke Michael 
of the regency did not provide for his eventual successor. 
The prevalent opinion is that there is expectation that this 
important office will devolve upon Nicholas Nicholaie- 
vitch ; but manifestoes are often written for nothing. The 
health of the little Tsarevitch is such that it seems more 
than doubtful that he will ever reach manhood. He has 
no brother. The succession to the Throne is one of those 
shadows that darken the horizon of Russia. It is sure to 

be disputed should Nicholas II. die without a male heir. 

249 



CHAPTER V 

THE ZEMSTVO OF TVER INCIDENT AND WHAT CAME OF IT 

Six weeks after the death of Alexander HI. the question 
of his successor receiving congratulations from the public 
bodies of the Empire on the occasion of his marriage 
began to be mooted. 

The Minister of the Interior, at that time M. Dour- 
novo, a man of large proportions and stature, but not 
of widened vision, suggested to the different deputations 
which were to be allowed to appear before the Sovereign, 
that their congratulatory addresses should be accom- 
panied by presents and offerings. This suggestion was 
not kindly received by the public, and gave rise to much 
grumbling. However, this feeling quickly subsided, and 
the interest of the coming occasion dominated the public 
mind. 

The Tsar had been credited, really no one knew why, 
with being inclined towards introducing m^ore liberty in 
the self-government of the country, as represented by the 
zemstvos, or county councils, in the various Governments. 
These county councils, about which I have already spoken 
when mentioning the reforms of Alexander II., had always 
represented the Liberal elements in Russia, and strove 
hard to be allowed more independence than the Govern- 
ment cared to grant. 

During the Nihilist troubles the zemstvos, though 
they had never definitely inclined towards any sympathy 
vith that movement, yet still had attempted to make them- 

250 



The Zemstvo of Tver Incident 

selves heard in support of changes in the interior adminis- 
tration of the country. 

When, however, a new reign began some members of 
these local councils thought that the time had at last 
arrived when something might be said, if not done, in 
this direction. 

The news that the young Tsar had consented to receive 
these deputations was hailed with delight, although, as 
is usual upon such occasions, people were found to laugh 
at the presents which were expected to be given. I re- 
member that a very witty man, now dead, whose bons 
mots used to enliven St. Petersburg Society, declared that 
the following inscriptions ought to be written upon the 
golden dishes presented by the various classes of Society 
represented by these deputations. He suggested for that 
of the peasants, ** Give us this day our daily bread " ; for 
that of the nobility, about the poorest class in Russia, 
" Forgive us our debts towards thee " ; for that of the 
merchants, " Lead us not into temptation " ; and for 
that of the different State functionaries and employes, 
" And deliver us from Dournovo," Dournovo being the 
Minister of the Interior through whose initiative, as I 
have said, all these presents had been subscribed for. 
The joke went round the tow^n, and was the cause of 
much fun. 

The first deputation which the Emperor received was 
one composed of the Marshals of the nobility of the vari- 
ous Governments. The business proceeded smoothly, but 
with an air of expectancy, for all were looking forward 
to what the Emperor would say when the zemstvos should 
be allowed to present their homage to him and to his 
Consort. 

The situation will be better understood when it is 
mentioned that the Government of Tver had always been 

2Sl 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

remarkable for its advanced ideas, and a few over-clever 
individuals among its local administrators thought that 
the moment had come to assert themselves. Conse- 
quently, when the address to the Emperor came to be 
dealt with at a special meeting of this zemstvo, it was 
drafted in a very bold, though perfectly respectful way, 
and expressed the hope that under the new Sovereign 
the zemstvos would be allowed to resume the role they 
had been allotted when they were first created by the 
Emperor Alexander II. : that of helping the Sovereign 
to govern the country well and in accordance with the 
principles that had made it great— until the day should 
come when it would be ripe enough for a system of govern- 
ment to be introduced in which the executive power would 
no longer be confined to the hands of a few. The actual 
text of the address may be quoted here. It is not a docu- 
ment of remarkable interest save to show the mildness 
with which, after all, the aspirations were expressed, 
which makes the outburst it evoked the more surprising : 

" May it please Your Imperial Majesty, — In these memor- 
able days, which see the beginning of your services in the cause 
of the welfare of the Russian Nation, the zemstvo of the 
Government of Tver greets you with feelings of fervent loyalty. 
We share your sorrow. Gracious Sovereign, and we hope that 
you will find some consolation in this sad hour, when an unex- 
pected misfortune has befallen you, as well as the whole of Russia, 
in the love of your people as well as in the hopes and trust that 
the nation has put in you ; and that you will also find in those 
feelings a firm support in the fulfilment of the difficult task 
that has been imposed upon you by Divine Providence. 

" The Russian nation has listened with gratitude to the 
solemn expressions uttered by Your Imperial Majesty upon 
your accession to the Throne of All the Russias. We have 
also shared these feelings of gratitude, together with the rest 
of the nation, and we send fervent prayers to the Almighty for 
the success of the important task that lies before you, and 
for the fulfilment of the high aims you have put before you, 

352 



The Zemstvo of Tver Incident 

namely, the happiness and welfare of all your faithful subjects. 
We allow ourselves to indulge in the hope that on the height 
of the Throne the voice of the nation and the expressions of 
its desires will be heard and listened to. We are firmly con- 
vinced that the welfare of Russia will improve and fortify itself 
under your rule, and that the law will henceforward be respected 
and obeyed, not only by the nation alone, but also by the 
representatives of the authority that rules it ; because the law, 
v/hich in Russia represents the wishes of the Monarch, must 
stand above the personal opinions and views of those repre- 
sentatives. 

" We earnestly believe that during your reign the rights of 
individuals, as well as those of already existing representative 
bodies, will be protected permanently and energetically. 

" We expect, Gracious Sovereign, that these representative 
bodies will he allowed to voice their opiniojts in matters in which 
they are concerned, in order that the expressions of the needs 
and thoughts, not only of the representatives of the adminis- 
tration, but also of the whole Russian nation, might reach the 
Throne. We expect, Gracious Sovereign, that under your rule 
Russia will advance on the path of civilisation and progress, 
as well as on the road of a peaceful development of its resources 
and needs. We firmly believe that in the close union of all 
the elements and classes that constitute the Russian people, 
who all of them are devoted to the Throne as well as to their 
country, the power which Your Majesty wields will find new 
sources of strength and stronger chances of success towards 
the fulfilment of the high aims Your Imperial Majesty has in 
view." 

As a whole, the address breathed submissive loyalty 
and patriotism, but the bold passage which has been 
printed in italics constituted a precedent which might 
well excite remark, if not suspicioii. Equally, on the other 
hand, had the words not been seized upon as an act of 
insubordination by a narrow-minded Minister, no one 
Plight have noticed or spoken about them except in 
iVer itself. A far-seeing adviser would never have spoken 
of the incident to the Emperor. Instead, it was trans- 
formed into a question of State. The unfortunate writer 

253 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

of the address was dismissed with ignominy from the 
public service, and an official reproof was administered to 
the Governor of Tver, a most upright person, who could 
not possibly have prevented the address being adopted, 
as he had nothing whatever to do with the deliberations 
of the zemstvo, which w^ere conducted quite indepen- 
dently of the Governor, who seldom heard about the 
resolutions adopted until after they had become accom- 
plished facts. The Tver deputation were refused per- 
mission to enter the Winter Palace, and it was stated that 
the Minister of the Interior had expressed his intention 
to submit to His Majesty a series of measures which in his 
opinion ought to be adopted in order to nip in the bud any 
attempt at self-government on the part of the zemstvos. 

Meanwhile January 30th had been fixed for the re- 
ception of the various deputations, and on that day 
they were ushered into the Throne Room of the Winter 
Palace. Very soon the Emperor entered it, accompanied 
by his young wife. The latter was dressed in the 
deepest mourning, which at once created an unfortunate 
impression among the assembly, since it is not the custom 
in Russia to wear black when receiving congratula- 
tions upon a marriage, white being the universal colour 
worn on such occasions. Both took their places in front 
of the Throne, and the deputations were introduced one 
after the other, each loaded with splendid presents con- 
sisting of plate and other precious things. When the 
reception was over, the Emperor, who, during the whole 
time it lasted, had kept twisting a bit of paper that had 
been lying at the bottom of his cap, turned towards the 
assemblage, and said the following words : 

" I am glad to see here the representatives of all the 
different classes of the country, arrived to express to me 
their submissive and loyal feelings. I believe in those 

254 



The Zemstvo of Tver Incident 

feelings, which are inherent in every Russian heart. But 
it has come to my knowledge that during the last months 
there have been heard in some assemblies of the zemstvos 
the voices of those who have indulged in the senseless 
** dreams that the zemstvos could be called to participate in 
the government of the country. I want everyone to know 
that I will concentrate all my strength to maintain, for 
the good of the whole nation, the principle of absolute 
autocracy, as firmly and as strongly as did my lamented 
father." 

Onlookers have told how that, in saying these words, 
Nicholas II. was extremely pale and agitated, and though 
he began reading in a low voice, gradually it rose to an 
actual scream. " He howled them at us," said one wit- 
ness, '* and in uttering the last words he made with his 
hand a gesture as if uttering a threat." 

The consternation caused by these words was too 
intense to be described. Though nearly twenty years 
have passed since that day those who were present on 
so memorable an occasion still speak of it with emotion. 
These words reverberated throughout Russia, thus rudely 
dispelling many hopes. Loyal Russians felt not only 
aggrieved, but ashamed that such a reproof should have 
been administered to them before foreigners, such as Poles 
and Germans, of whom there were many in the various 

deputations. It was felt, moreover, that none among 

f 

those who had gathered injthat hall of Stated to offer their 
wishes of future happiness and welfare to their Sovereign 
and to his young bride deserved to have such an epithet 
hurled at their heads ; for the expression to which '* sense- 
less dreams " had been applied had only been legitimate 
wishes, devoid of the slightest revolutionary character. 
Many felt, too, that the tone adopted by the Emperor 
was derogatory to the memory of the Emperor Alexander 

355 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

II., who not only had created the zemstvos in Russia, 
but had considered them as his essential collaborators in 
the task of working for the welfare and development 
of the country. However, it was said that Nicholas him- 
'*• self was satisfied. Two days later he asked an official 
what the public had said and thought about his speech, to 
which the diplomatic reply was given, " People generally 
think it was a notable feat." " It is just what I wanted," 
replied the Tsar ; "I have only expressed what are my 
own personal ideas." 

What result these ideas were to have later on, the 
history of Russia during the last eighteen years has shown 
only too plainly. 

It was not to be expected that the gauntlet thus 
thrown down would not be taken up. The extreme 
Nihilist party, who had kept quiet during the reign of 
Alexander III., and had seen that it could not attempt 
to overthrow the Government which he gripped with 
such firm hands, now saw its opportunity, and used it. 

A week after the admonition of Nicholas TI. to his 
people an open letter to him was published by the execu- 
tive committee of Geneva, the chiefs of which returned 
to Russia in order to disseminate it everywhere. The 
police managed to seize and confiscate about thirty thou- 
sand copies, but nevertheless a few reached their destina- 
tion, and it is certain that the Emperor found one of them 
upon his writing-table. It was impossible to find out who 
had put it there, and it showed that even in the shadow 
of the Throne the Anarchists had servants in readiness to 
fulfil their orders. 

Here is the text of this remarkable document, never 
before disclosed outside Russia : — 

" You have spoken, and your words are at present known 
everj^'here in Russia ; aye, in the whole of the civilised world. 

256 



The Zemstvo of Tver Incident 

Until now you were unknown, but since yesterday you have 
become a definite factor in the situation of your country, about 
whom there is no room left for senseless dreams. We do not 
know whether you understand or realise the position which 
you have yourself created with your * firm words,' but we beUeve 
that people whose position is not so high as yours, or so remote 
from the realities of life and on that account are able to see 
what is going on in Russia just now, will easily understand 
what is your position and what is theirs. 

" First of all, you are badly informed about these tendencies 
against which you decided to raise your voice in your speech. 
There has not been heard in one single assembly of any zemstvo 
one single word against that autocracy which is so dear to your 
heart ; nor has one member of a zemstvo ever put the ques- 
tion on the basis upon which you have placed it. The most 
advanced thinkers among them have only insisted upon — or, 
rather, humbly begged — ^that a closer union might be inaugur- 
ated between the Monarch and his people ; for the permission 
for the zemstvos to have free access to the Throne without any- 
one standing between it and them ; for the right of public 
debate, and for the assurance that the law should always be 
observed and stand above the caprices of the Administration. 

" In one word, the only thing that was in question was the 
desire to see fall and crumble to the ground that wall of bureau- 
cracy and courtierdom that has always parted the Sovereign 
from the Russian nation. 

" This was the desire of these people whom you, who have 
only just stepped upon the Throne, inexperienced and igno- 
rant of the national needs, have seen fit to call ' senseless 
dreams.' 

"It is clear to all the intelligent elements of the Russian 
people who has advised you to take this imprudent step. You 
are being deceived ; you are being frightened by this very 
gang of bureaucrats and courtiers to whose actual autocracy 
not one single Russian man or woman has ever been re. 
conciled. You, too, have reproached the zemstvos for the 
feeble cry that has escaped their lips against the tyranny of 
the bureaucracy and of the police. 

" You have allowed yourself to be carried so far in your 
ideas of protecting that autocracy — your own — against which 
no one thought of rising, that you have considered as a danger 

K 257 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

thereto the participation of the zemstvos in the government 
of the country as well as of local needs. 

" Such a point of view does not correspond even to that 
position in which the zemstvos have found themselves con- 
firmed by your father's wishes ; a position in which they appear 
as an indispensable organ, and participate in the internal 
government of the country. 

" But your unfortunate expressions are not only a mistake 
in the way in which you have worded them, but appear as the 
definition of a whole system of government ; and Russian 
society will understand quite well that on the i7-3oth January 
it was not at all that ideal autocracy of which you believe your- 
self to be the representative that spoke through your mouth, 
but that omnipotent and jealous guardian of its privileges, 
bufeaucracy. 

" This bureaucracy, which begins with the committee of 
Ministers and ends with the meanest policeman, is odious to 
all those who desire the extension of real autocracy, even the 
one that is maintained by the present order of things. This 
it is that keeps the Monarch removed from free communion 
with the representatives of the nation. And your speech has 
proved once more that every desire on the part of the nation 
to be other than slaves kissing the ground before the Throne and 
bring to its notice the needs of the country — the most urgent 
needs' — in a submissive form, is only met with a brutal rebuff. 

" Many fundamental questions concerning the welfare of 
the nation have yet to be placed upon a satisfactory basis. 
Questions of moment have arisen since the great epoch of reforms 
initiated by your grandfather, and these lately have come to 
the front more acutely owing to the great famine which has 
weakened the country. 

" Russian public opinion has been, and is, working hard, and 
with painstaking efforts, towards the solution of these ; and it is 
just at such a time that, instead of words of comfort promising 
a real and beneficial union between the Tsar and his people, 
and of an acknowledgment from the heights of the Throne 
that for the future public discussion and a strong upholding 
of the law will mark the beginning of a new era in the public 
life of the country — the representatives of the different classes 
of society, gathered before you from all the corners of Russia, 
and expecting from you help and consolation, only heard from 

258 



The Zemstvo of Tver Incident 

you a new expression of your attachment to the old system 
of a worn-out autocracy, and carried away the impression of 
the total separation of the Tsar from his people. 

** Do believe, that even for the mildest of men, such a declara- 
tion, ill-timed as it was, could only produce a crushing feehng 
of betrayal. The 17th January has done away with that 
halo with which so many Russians had crowned your young, 
inexperienced head. You have laid your own hand on your 
popularity, and have destroyed it. 

" Unfortunately, the question does not touch your popu- 
larity alone. If in words and with deeds autocracy identifies 
itself with the all-powerful bureaucracy ; if its existence is only 
possible when every expression of the public need is crushed, 
and it can live only when surrounded by an extra guard of 
police, then indeed it has outlived its time and lost the game. 
It has dug its own grave with its own hands, and sooner or 
later, but at all events at a none too distant period, it will fall 
under the weight of the real and vital forces of the nation. 
You have yourself by your own words and conduct put before 
society one clear question, which in itself alone is a terrible 
threat to the system of autocracy. You challenged not only 
the zemstvos but also the whole of Russian society to a mortal 
duel, and they have now nothing left them except to choose 
deliberately between a forward movement in the cause of civilisa- 
tion or a blind obedience to autocracy. Truly, you have 
strengthened by your speech the detective-like proclivities of 
those who see the only possibility of serving their Sovereign in 
the crushing of every expression of public feeling and in dis- 
regard of the law. You have appealed to the enthusiasm of 
those who are ready to give their services to every kind of 
master, and who do not give one single thought to the public 
welfare, finding that tyranny serves their own narrow-minded 
views. But you have turned against you all those who 
want to lead the country forward in the road of progress and 
civilisation. 

" And what will become of all those who are unable to recon- 
cile themselves with the concessions required from them, and 
with a long and mostly hopeless struggle with the present order 
of things ? After your sharp reply to the most humble and 
lawful demands that have been addressed to you, by what 
and through what means will Russian society be able to keep 

359 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

in quiet submission to your will those of its members who wish 
to proceed, further and further, on that road which leads to 
the amelioration of the nation's fate ? Yet this is the impres- 
sion created for Russian public opinion and the Russian people 
by your first words to it, and your first reply as a Sovereign to 
the humble demands of its representatives. 

" Without mentioning the feelings of discouragement and 
helplessness of which you wiU very soon be convinced, your 
speech offended and revolted some who, however, will soon 
recover from their present depression, and will begin a peaceful, 
quiet, but none the less determined struggle to obtain the liberties 
which they require. 

** Likewise it has strengthened in others the determination 
to fight to the bitter end against a hateful order of things, and 
to fight it with all means they may have at their disposal and 
in their power. You have been the first to begin the struggle, 
and it will not be long before you find yourself entangled by it. 

"St. Petersburg, January igth^ 1895." 

This letter, which sounded the first warning note of 
the Revolution that was to break out ten years later, is 
so remarkable that I thought it as well to transcribe it 
fully, as it explains in part the events which followed. 



260 



CHAPTER VI 

THE ENTOURAGE OF THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS 

The painful circumstances under which the nuptials of 
Nicholas II. and Alexandra Feodorovna were celebrated pre- 
vented them from gathering St. Petersburg Society around 
them, and getting to know it well enough to be able to 
select their friends therefrom. The deep mourning for the 
late Emperor obliged his successor to remain in retire- 
ment for a whole year, and that retirement was the more 
complete because the newly wedded Imperial couple had 
taken up their first abode with the Dowager Empress in 
the Anitchkov Palace. Consequently they were deprived 
of a home of their own. 

It is true that in the course of the February following 
upon her marriage the Court was presented to the young 
Empress at one solemn reception. But this did not efface 
the feeling of being a stranger among those with whom 
she lived, and it weighed heavily upon Alexandra Feo- 
dorovna's mind. She felt lost, and of course was more 
susceptible than she would otherwise have been to the 
impressions that were given to her by the few people she 
was allowed io see. 

The Empress Dowager was wrapped up in her grief, 
and had hardly emerged from it when her relations with 
her daughter-in-law became strained. Her sister, the 
Grand Duchess Elizabeth, lived in Moscow, and with the 
other Grand Duchesses the bride had nothing in common. 
Consequently she was left almost entirely to herself in an 

96l 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

atmosphere which was not congenial to her tastes. She 
was thus thrown upon her immediate surroundings, and 
became more or less intimate with her Mistress of the 
Robes, the Princess Mary GaUtzine. 

This lady has played an important part in the life of 
the Empress. 

The Princess Galitzine, who came from a family belong- 
ing to the merchant class, was a remarkable woman. She 
had been married when a girl of sixteen to Prince Galitzine, 
who was about thirty years older than herself, but rich, 
in a high position, and boasting of the title of Serene High- 
ness, which so very few families possess in Russia. He 
was a man of an easy temperament, content with every- 
thing, and living a life of his own, in which his wife had 
little or even no part at all. She was not pretty, but 
clever, ambitious, charming when she liked to show herself 
so, and wonderfully attractive to men. She knew it, and 
did not repulse the homage offered to her. Her pursuit 
of pleasure was so zealous that had it not been for her 
husband and the influence of his family, it was freely stated 
she would not have been forgiven so easily her irregu- 
larities of conduct. She was ambitious, intriguing, and 
unsparing in her criticisms. At the same time she was 
a faithful friend to all who looked to her for protection 
and who worshipped at her shrine. 

When the question of appointing the Household of the 
new Empress came to be discussed, people wondered who 
was to become Mistress of the Robes. Rumour said that 
it would be Madame Elizabeth Narischkine, a person of 
great tact, kind, generous, amiable, with no remarkable 
intelligence perhaps, but possessing a perfect knowledge 
of the world and polite in the extreme. Princess Koura- 
kine, her mother, had been Mistress of the Robes to the 
Empress Marie Feodorovna when she first arrived in Russia. 

262 



Entourage of Emperor and Empress 

Madame Narischkine had been reared in the atmosphere 
of a Court, and also had been lady-in-waiting to the Grand 
Duchess Olga Feodorovna. She would have been an 
excellent guide for the young Empress, at the head of whose 
Household she is to-day, and certainly if she had been 
chosen from the first to occupy that position a good many 
of the blunders innocently committed by Alexandra 
Feodorovna would have been avoided. 

But the Emperor determined to give the post to a 
lady of independent means rather than to one in the Court 
entourage. The name of the Princess Galitzine was put 
forward by one of her former admirers, wanting thus to 
acquit himself for past kindnesses, and Nicholas II. 
appointed her, being impressed by her great name and 
position, by the reputation for independence which she 
had contrived to win for herself, and a certain brusquerie 
in her manners and speech when she expressed her opinions. 

The Princess had been a widow for some years when 
she was appointed Mistress of the Robes. This gave her 
the opportunity to obtain an apartment in the Winter 
Palace, and thus to be constantly at the beck and call of 
her Imperial mistress. She began by saying that she did 
not care for the brilliant position which was offered her, 
and that she had only accepted it because she thought it 
her duty not to refuse the benefit of her experience to the 
young wife of her Sovereign. In reality, she was delighted 
beyond words. 

She also wanted power and money, and she got both. 
Her finances — ^which had been rather entangled when she 
appeared at Court — ^she soon set straight ; not by means 
of the Imperial gifts showered upon her, but through the 
knowledge which she acquired and which she used with 
great intelligence and savoir faire. As for power, she 

managed to establish herself so firmly in the good graces 

263 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

of her Sovereign, that not only was she listened to and 
consulted in everything, but also she was given the highest 
title that can be awarded to a woman at the Russian 
Court, that of Head Mistress of the Robes. This title, 
bien entendu, Alexander III. had refused to confer even 
upon Princess Heldne Kotchoubey, because he did not 
care to establish a precedent in a function that can only 
be compared with that of surintendante at the Court of the 
French kings, the inconveniences of which were pointed 
out when it was granted to the Princesse de Lamballe, by 
the ill-fated Marie Antoinette. 

The Princess Galitzine had never liked the Dowager 
Empress, whom she had always mercilessly criticised when- 
ever an opportunity had occurred. She was most anxious 
for Alexandra Feodorovna not to fall under the influence 
of her mother-in-law, whose natural amiability of character 
would have always been exercised in favour of graciousness 
being shown to everybody, even the people one did not like. 

Marie Michailovna, as the Mistress of the Robes was 
familiarly called, had but a limited knowledge of etiquette 
such as it w^as formerly in existence at the Russian Court. 
This led her into many blunders, for which the Empress 
was made responsible. 

The nuances, the tact, that exquisite knowled.ge of the 
world which had distinguished Princess Kotchoubey, who 
was a great lady, recognised as such everywhere, were 
dead letters to her successor. 

The dignity, the ease without familiarity, which dis- 
tinguished the Russian Court disappeared, and Princess 
Galitzine introduced stiffness where formerly magnificence 
reigned. She acted as if it was beneath her to show kind- 
ness to those persons with whom she came into contact, 
and did what she could to accentuate the cold way in which 
Society was held at a distance by the Empress. 

264 



Entourage of Emperor and Empress 

Her receptions were amusing to follow and to watch. 
Whenever someone unknown to her presented himself or 
herself, although arriving from some distant province of 
the Empire, the Princess Mary literally crushed them 
with the few dry remarks and the way in which she caused 
them to feel that they ought never to have come. 

She hardly said " Good morning " to these personages, 
and never said " Good-bye " ; she treated them as if they 
had no right to exist, and yet very often these same per- 
sons were of considerable importance in their own dis- 
tricts. Thus, when they returned home they naturally 
related that they had not even been accorded a polite 
welcome in the capital, whither they had travelled to pay 
their respects to their Sovereign. 

The Princess Galitzine also wielded considerable influence 
in political affairs, although she never understood much 
about them. Nevertheless, several people were appointed 
to high positions by her efforts. For instance, of General 
Kouropatkine, who, it is said, was her special ^ protege, 
she sang the praises so long and so often to Nicholas 11. 
that the Emperor superseded General Vannovski — who for a 
number of years had been at the head of the War Office, 
and who was an outspoken man, and decided that he 
could not do better than appoint General Kouropatkine 
to that responsible position. 

She also interested herself in foreign politics. Once 
she had a serious altercation with Count Muravieff, just 
before the latter's death, concerning a dispatch which he 
wanted to send to London about his negotiations with 
Japan on the Korean question. Count Muravieff, how- 
ever, though the most courteous of men, was not one to 
yield in important questions, and refused to satisfy the 
Princess Galitzine. 

When the war with its disasters had come to an end, 

26s 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and was followed by the Revolution as an aftermath, 
the Princess Galitzine became even more energetic than 
formerly. She was a warm partisan of M. Stolypin, who 
owed much to her influence. They were of sympathetic 
temperaments, perhaps because they both had the repu- 
tation of being able to do everything that they wanted. 
Certainly Marie Michailovna never missed a single 
opportunity. She was the partisan of the rigorous system 
being introduced, but nevertheless welcomed the Duma 
when it was decided to call one together. Gossip said that 
she was the echo of the wishes of Nicholas II., simply 
because very often she had inspired those wishes. 

Students of contemporary history hold the opinion that 
she discredited the Throne, and that she raised against 
her Sovereigns such a storm of hatred that it is difficult 
to foresee when and where it will end. She managed to 
make them unpopular even in the many good deeds they 
did, and she inculcated in the young Empress a feeling 
of suspicion against her people which is to be feared nothing 
will ever drive from her mind. The Princess Galitzine 
died some two or three years ago. 

Madame Narischkine is a charming woman, gracious, 
dignified, amiable, polite, and a great philanthropist, giving 
up all her spare time in the cause of charity, and especially 
concentrating her activity upon the work of attending to 
the physical and moral wants of the inmates of prisons. 
No one knows the good she has done in that direction, 
and she is so busy that even if her nature was not foreign 
to any kind of intrigue she could not find the time, as 
every moment is employed in one way or another. She 
is a grande dame in manners and appearance, though quite 
small, and by no means good looking. But she is the right 
person in the right place — or, at least, she would be if 
the influence of her predecessor had not destroyed before- 

266 



Entourage of Emperor and Empress 

hand any effort she might feel inclined to make in order 
to introduce some changes in the conduct of a Court which 
now exists but in name, for the Empress has so entirely 
retired from the world that it has ceased to be considered 
of any importance by Society. The great mistake of allow- 
ing Court life to decline was clearly understood by the 
great Marie Th^r^se, who, when she wrote to her daughter, 
Marie Antoinette, said : " I am glad to hear that you are 
going to take up again all the official receptions of Ver- 
sailles. I know how empty and dull that kind of thing 
is, but, believe me, if it is not observed, the inconveniences 
that result from its neglect are far more important than 
the small annoyance that it causes." 

Beyond her Mistress of the Robes, the Empress Alexandra 
has four ladies-in-waiting in constant attendance upon her, 
who live in the Palace. Her daughters have a governess 
who also wears the Imperial cipher in diamonds on a blue 
ribbon, which distinguishes the maids of honour from 
other ladies in Society ; and then there is a German lady, 
a Mademoiselle Schneider, who came with the Empress 
to Russia from Darmstadt, and who is supposed to read to 
her aloud. The Empress has also a secretary who attends to 
her business and her official letters ; but outside this limited 
number of persons her only other friends are Madame 
Vyroubiev (who stays with her day and night, and who 
is in possession of all her confidence), and a monk called 
Gregor Raspoutine, upon whose counsels she places depend- 
ence but about whom rumour has been exceedingly busy. 

After the Grande maitresse, or Mistress of the Robes, the 
greatest functionary of the Imperial Court is the Minister 
of the Household. This post has always been occupied by 
an intimate and personal friend of the Sovereign, as for 
instance, Count Adlerberg under Alexander II., and Count 
Worontzoff Dachkoff under his successor. The present 

267 



\ 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

holder, General Baron Freedericksz, is the type par excel- 
lence of a perfect courtier, and a gentleman in the fullest 
acceptation of the word. 

The Baron, who began his career in the First Horse 
Guard regiment, is a personage very much liked, perhaps 
because he has always been found to be inoffensive. He 
has an imposing presence, and his long, drooping mous- 
tache gives him the appearance of one of those musketeers 
whom Dumas has immortalised in the stories of d'Artagnan. 
But there ends the resemblance. He has little energy, 
and is without independence save that derived from 
an enormous fortune. He would seldom oppose, still less 
tell a displeasing truth to, his Sovereign. He has fine 
manners, tact, knowledge of the world, and all the 
advantages of a handsome physique, clothed in a brilliant 
uniform. He has no desire to play a political role, being 
one of these happy-go-lucky fellows who thinks the world 
a nice place to live in, and has no desire to see farther 
than that pleasant fact. 

The Master of the Imperial Household is Count Bencken- 
dorff, whom I have already had occasion to mention. 
He is a gentleman who has always done the right thing, 
even when it was not palatable to him. His brother is 
Ambassador in London, where he is likely to remain for 
some time to come. 

The Military Secretary of the Emperor is General 

Prince Orloff , the son of the former Ambassador in Paris 

and Berlin. He owes his position to his name and fortune, 

but it is rumoured he is liked neither by the Sovereign nor 

by his Consort. The Princess Orloff, his wife, by birth 

a Princess Belosselsky and the granddaughter of the 

Princess H^lene Kotchoiibey, is certainly the smartest 

woman in St. Petersburg. She is rather spare in figure ; 

nevertheless she looks supremely elegant when she enters 

2168 



Entourage of Emperor and Empress 

a room, and the charm of her appearance is such that 
looking at her one entirely forgets to talk to her, which 
perhaps is just as well. 

The Emperor has three aides-de-camp with whom he is 
on exceedingly familiar terms. This friendship dates 
from the time when, as Heir to the Throne, he was per- 
forming his military duties in the Preobrajensky Regi- 
ment of the Guards. These are M. Narischkine, the son 
of Madame Elizabeth Narischkine, Colonel Swet chine, 
and Colonel Drenteln. Nicholas II. treats them not only 
with kindness, but also allows them an intimacy which 
he does not permit to others, however exalted. In their 
company he often attends dinners at the messes of the 
different regiments of the Guards, remaining with them 
until the small hours of the morning, and forgetting for a 
few brief moments that he is a Sovereign, in the pleasure 
of listening to Bohemian girls singing their wild ballads, 
or in that of sipping slowly a glass of champagne. These 
dinners are almost the only recreation which Nicholas II. 
allows himself, and they constitute for him a distraction 
unspoilt by the trammels of etiquette, or the vigilance 
of masters of the ceremonies eager to remind the Sovereign 
of duties which he would fain forget. 

Except the people whom I have mentioned, and the 
officers of the Imperial yacht, who are also more or less 
admitted into the intimacy of the Imperial Family, the 
Emperor and the Empress have no friends, no people with 
whom they can talk or discuss the events of the world. 
The solitude in which they live is complete, their isola- 
tion from mankind entire, and in view of this disastrous 
fact one can only wonder that the mistakes they make 
are not even more serious than is the case. 



269 



CHAPTER VII 

THE CORONATION OF NICHOLAS II. 

About a twelvemonth after her marriage the Empress 
gave birth to her first child, a daughter. The disappoint- 
ment of the public was intense. Then the Court came to 
St. Petersburg for the winter months, and a few balls 
were given at the Winter Palace. Somehow these enter- 
tainments lacked the enjoyment which had formerly 
attended them. A certain stiffness prevailed, and the 
young Sovereigns did not succeed in winning popularity 
»^ among the best Society of the capital.* Their unpopularity 
unfortunately was only increased, as I shall show, during 
the Coronation festivities which took place in the following 
month of May. 

People who had been present at the Court festivities 
of Alexander III. and his Consort, and remembered the 
gaiety which had then prevailed, notwithstanding the 
political anxieties that overshadowed the period, could 
not help remarking upon the contrast of those past days 
with the solemnity and stiffness of the ceremonies that 
accompanied the occasion of the Coronation of Nicholas 
II. When he entered Moscow in state, the golden 
carriages, the pomp, the escort of chamberlains in gold 
uniforms, and soldiers in their gala attire, were the same 
as at the Coronation of his father. Yet there was no 
spontaneity in the greetings of the crowd, no enthusiasm 
save that which is inseparable from such an affair. 
Indeed, the only time that the hurrahs of the crowd 

270 



The Coronation of Nicholas 11. 

seemed to come from its heart was when the carriage 
containing the Dowager Empress appeared, whilst a dead 
silence greeted her daughter-in-law. Poor Marie Feo- 
dorovna herself was crying throughout her long journey 
from the Petrovsky Palace, on the outskirts of Moscow, to 
the Kremlin ; but her very tears commanded the sym- 
pathy of the public — ^indeed, of everybody who remem- 
bered that other day when she had been one of the two 
principal personages in a like pageant. 

The Coronation ceremony went of! very well, save 
that when the Emperor and Empress left the Cathedral 
of the Assumption to go round the other churches of the 
•-Kremlin, Nicholas II., on entering the Church of the 
Archangels, where the old Tsars of Moscow are buried, 
tottered and nearly fell under the weight of his heavy 
mantle, and still heavier crown. (The sceptre droppedX 
from his hand, and he had to be led aside and given water 
to drink in order to be revived. Superstitious people 
quickly saw in this faintness a presage of evil for the 
future. That dropping of the sceptre which he should 
have held with the same firmness that his father had 
grasped it, was interpreted as a sign of weakness, not only 
of a physical but also of a moral character. Thus, instead 
of confidence prevailing, apprehension as to the future of 
Russia under his rule was already a frequent subject of 
public conversation. 

The first days that followed upon the Coronation went 
of£ very well, with nothing to mar the programme approved 
of beforehand. 

Balls were given, entertainments went on with their 
usual routine, and foreign princes and princesses, who 
had arrived from far and near to witness the ceremony of 
the Coronation, were entertained and taken about to see 
all the various sights of Moscow. The nobility of Russia 

271 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

gave one big ball, at which the whole Court was present, 
and a gala performance at the Opera was also the occa- 
sion of a gay scene. But there was no enthusiasm, no 
animation, and fatigue was perhaps the most prevalent 
feeling during the three weeks, which heartily bored every- 
body, and of which everybody wished to see the end. 
Truly the only ball that could be called a success was 
the one given by the Grand Duke Sergius and his 
consort. 

At that time the Grand Duke was Governor-General 
of Moscow. Personally, he had not succeeded in making 
himself liked by its inhabitants, who regretted still the 
rule of old Prince Dolgorouky ; but the Grand Duchess 
had won for herself the affection of everybody who had 
come into contact with her. In St. Petersburg she had 
seemed dull and quiet, but when thrown upon her own 
resources and obliged, so to say, to play the part of Vice- 
reine, she did it to perfection, and during these Coronation 
festivities she showed herself the most charming of 
hostesses. The Grand Duke, too, was amiable in the 
extreme with his guests, and at this particular ball he 
reminded one, by the grace of his manner, of his father, 
the late Tsar Alexander II., whom also he resembled, 
physically, more than his other brothers. I remember 
him well on that particular evening, when representatives 
from the whole world crowded in his rooms. He had a 
pleasant word for each one, showed himself an attentive 
host, and had none of that proud reserve with which he 
had been credited whilst living in St. Petersburg. 

The first unpleasant event which marred the Corona- 
tion festivities was the death of the Archduke Charles 
Louis, the brother of the Emperor of Austria. A ball was 
to have been given at the Austrian Embassy, for which 

immense preparations had been made by the Ambassador, 

272 



The Coronation of Nicholas IL 

Prince Liechtenstein, who had brought over to decorate 
the walls of the house which he had hired for the time 
of the festivities all the old and precious tapestries which 
were preserved as heirlooms in his family. Of course, 
this ball had to be countermanded. 

Before recounting the crowning disaster, I should ex- 
plain that it is usual when a Russian Emperor is crowned 
to give a kind of popular feast to the peasants and 
the poorer classes in Moscow and other parts of Russia, 
whence peasant deputations are generally sent to be 
present at the ceremony. This feast takes place on an 
open space called the Khodinka Field, about two miles 
from the town. It is attended by several hundreds of 
thousands of people, and constitutes a unique sight. A 
pavilion is erected, from which the Sovereign looks on, 
and kiosks are all round it for other spectators. Tables 
are spread on the lawns with provisions for the people to 
eat, and various entertainments in the shape of theatres 
in the open air, and things of the same kind, are provided 
for their amusement. Presents also, in the shape of mugs 
for men and handkerchiefs for the women, are distributed, 
together with medals in commemoration of the day. 
Naturally, therefore, great crowds gather on this field. Be- 
fore daybreak all the roads leading to the Khodinka are 
crowded with men, women, and children, all eager to 
be the first on the spot. Generally troops are there to 
keep order, together w:th strong detachments of police, 
and every possible care is taken to prevent any panic 
among such an agglomeration of people, gathered in one 
spot, and all desirous of seeing their Tsar. Thus it can 
readily be imagined that even when political complica- 
tions do not happen to inspire the fear of a bomb or of 
some attempt to disturb the feast, those concerned with 
the organisation of it would be glad when it was over. 
s 273 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

On the June morning fixed for this popular rejoicing, 
crowds, as usual, tried from the early hours, and even 
during the night, to force an entrance to the field. 
Mounted policemen, who had received orders not to allow 
access to the lawns until the arrival of the Prefect of 
Police — ^who was to inspect all the arrangements before 
giving the signal for admission, tried to repulse the mass 
of humanity that struggled to enter. The police were 
insufficient to restrain this crowd, but considerable enough 
to create a panic by forcing back upon the crowds hasten- 
ing to the festivity the multitude which had already arrived. 
Women began to shout and children to scream, which 
added to the panic. Soon a terrible confusion took place 
which it became impossible to dissipate, the more so 
that by an unforgivable piece of stupidity deep ditches 
had been dug in order to prevent access to the field except 
through the official gates, which were guarded by police- 
men. The crowds, who did not know of the existence of 
these trenches, fell into them, and soon they were filled 
with struggling, dead, or dying human creatures, whose 
screams for help filled with horror those who listened ; 
but the cries were soon stilled by the silence of death. 

This awful scene did not last long. In one short hour 
innumerable bodies lay upon the grass, and the authori- 
ties of Moscow gathered upon the scene of the catastrophe. 
It was impossible to count the victims, and all that appar- 
ently could be done was to remove them hurriedly, no 
matter where or by what means. The feast had to take 
place, notwithstanding the bloody scene that had pre- 
m ceded it. It had to take place by Imperial order, because 
Nicholas II., when asked by a special messenger sent to 
acquaint him with what had occurred, replied that he did 
not see why the feast should be countermanded, or put 
off, because a few people had been crushed by accident. 

274 



The Coronation of Nicholas II. 

Nevertheless, in justice, the actual truth underlying 
this extraordinary speech should be told. He was not 
advised of the extent of the catastrophe at the moment 
when he was asked to make a decision. The system sur- 
rounding a Russian Sovereign had prevented those who 
were responsible for the misfortune from acknowledging 
its magnitude. They attempted to make light of it, 
maintained that there had merely been an accident such 
as seems inseparable from occasions of the kind, hoping, 
doubtless, that it would be possible to conceal the number 
of dead and wounded. After all, such was the idea, they 
were all of the poorer class, and they would not be missed. 

Consequently the trenches that had swallowed so many 
human lives were hastily covered with branches and earth, 
so as to hide their sinister contents. Carts were called, 
and in these bodies were thrown hurriedly, anyhow, and sent 
off with their ghastly burden to the different hospitals and 
churchyards. People driving afterwards to the feast met 
these carts and were horror-struck to see arms and legs hang- 
ing out of them from beneath cloths that had been thrown 
over the bodies to cover them. It was these late-comers 
who first spread in Moscow the news of the catastrophe. 

But, in spite of the hurry to take them away, the num- 
ber of the victims was so considerable that it was found 
impossible to dispose of them all at once. The Emperor 
was expected at any moment, and he could not be allowed 
to see all these bodies scattered everywhere about. Sol- 
diers were requisitioned, and they hastily — ^will such fatal 
stupidity be believed ? — thrust the corpses under the 
very pavilion in which the Sovereign was to alight and 
from the balcony of which he was to witness the feast. 
Thus by a terrible blunder, of which he knew nothing, 
but for which he was ever after bitterly reproached, 
Nicholas II. actually stood for more than five hours over the 

375 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

<r «dead bodies of his subjects, killed in their endeavour to 
welcome him. 

The details of this ghastly morning's work became 
known during the course of the same afternoon, and a 
feeling of intense and deep emotion shook the whole of 
Society — that frivolous Court Society that was gathered 
together in ancient Moscow to eat, drink, and be merry, 
without one thought as to death that was hovering near. 
A ball was to take place that very night at the French 
Embassy, and Count de Montebello, who at that time 
occupied the post of Ambassador at the Russian Court, 
wondered whether he should countermand it or not. But, 
in order to make quite sure as to the course which he had 
to pursue, he sent a special messenger to the Head Master 
of the Ceremonies, Count Pahlen, and asked him what he 
had to do. The Count took the Emperor's orders, and 
Nicholas II. said again that he saw no reason why the 
ball should be postponed, and that he would attend it. 

What a ball it was ! I do not remember in the whole 
course of my long life, ever having been at such a lugubri- 
ous entertainment. The catastrophe of the morning was 
the general subject of conversation, and the most harrow- 
ing details were given concerning it. The only people 
who appeared unmoved were the Emperor and Empress, 
who both, knowing nothing of the truth, seemed quite 
unconcerned ; so that when one of the foreign princes 
present ventured to condole with Nicholas II, on this 
untoward event, he quietly replied, " Yes, it is very sad ; 
but such accidents happen often, whenever there is a 
great congregation of people.'* 

Nicholas II., indeed, remained at the house of the 
Ambassador until the end of the ball, taking part in all 
the dances, a thing he seldom did, and appearing in an 
excellent temper. He did not seem— how could he ?— 

276 



The Coronation of Nicholas II. 

to realise the gravity of what had taken place, nor the 
enormity of the hecatomb with which the solemnity of his 
Coronation had been made memorable. 

Marie Feodorovna had not waited one moment before 
hurrying to the bedside of the poor creatures who had 
nearly paid with their lives for their desire to be present 
at this festivity. Whilst her son and daughter-in-law, 
unaware of the extent of the tragedy, were dancing and 
smiling on the Count de Montebello and his wife, she was 
consoling the wounded and attending to their wants. 
Once again she acted the part of an angel of mercy, and 
once again she brought sunshine and hope to desolate hearts 
and bereaved homes. The incident only served further to 
estrange the people from the Emperor and Empress. 

The details of the disaster of Khodinka were only made 
public little by little. At first frantic efforts had been 
made to hide its magnitude, but the secret could not be 
kept so well that it did not reach the ears of the nation. 
An inquest was at last ordered. It revealed such careless- 
ness, such utter disregard of the most elementary precau- 
tions on the part of the authorities, that it was believed 
at one time the Grand Duke Sergius himself would have to 
leave his post of Governor-General of the town of Moscow. 
He managed, however, to clear himself. But the head of 
the police of the second capital of the Empire had to retire 
into private life, and minor officials were punished more 
or less severely. After which one tried to forget the sad 
episode, which was never more mentioned in Court circles. 

Yet the country did not forget. The shadow of blood 
thrown over the reign of Nicholas II. by the catastrophe 
of Khodinka has never ceased to darken it. It has seemed 
to foreshadow all the other calamities that this reign was 
to see, and to give it that colour of misfortune which will 
cling to it in history. 

^11 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE SPRINGTIDE OF DISCONTENT 

The consequences of the Khodinka catastrophe were more 
tragic even than could have been conjectured. This ter- 
rible event had its effect among the lower classes — ^the 
peasants in particular. They had been content with 
their lot during the last years of the former reign. The 
event gave ample food also for the underground work of 
the anarchists, who had never given up their activity. 
On the contrary, the party silently prepared its batteries. 
The Coronation deputations from the rural classes returned 
to their homes dissatisfied with what they had seen, and 
discontented with the little attention that had been paid 
to them. Among these deputations were people who 
had been present at the Coronation of Alexander III., and 
who remembered the words he had spoken on that occa- 
sion. They had expected something of the same kind, 
and their disappointment was intense. Then came that 
horror of Khodinka Field. It was altogether to be regretted 
that it had been hushed up instead of being made to serve 
as a pretext for a closer union of the Sovereign with his 
subjects. His apparent indifference and icy impassive- 
ness in presence of this unparalleled disaster had entirely 
alienated the affections of his subjects, who were unaware 
that when the tragedy first took place he was misinformed 
as to its gravity. Unfortunately, his absence of active 
sympathy with the sufferers during the days just after 
the accident accentuated the feeling. Among the upper 

378 



The Springtide of Discontent 

classes some further dismay was felt as it became recog- 
nised that the new monarch lacked firmness of character. 

One early example of this temperamental weakness 
created an unpleasant impression on the public. When 
the Siberian Railway was quite completed the question 
arose in regard to the Department to which the adminis- 
tration of this important line should be entrusted : should 
it be administered by the Finance or the War Ministry? 

At that time Count Witte was at the head of the 
Treasury, whilst General Kouropatkine was in charge of 
the Army. Each Minister wanted to control the railway ; 
each had numerous eloquent arguments in support of 
his view ; and each had the opportunity to lay these 
arguments before Nicholas II. The Emperor at first was 
quite of opinion that General Kouropatkine should have 
the Siberian line under his control, and accordingly granted 
his request. When Count Witte came to him the next 
day, his report proved to the perplexed Sovereign that 
the Ministry of Finance was the proper Department to 
which the administration of the railway should be con- 
fided ; and so his arguments prevailed, with the consequence 
that the decision of the day previous was changed. But 
on the following morning Kouropatkine returned, and 
again the scales were turned in his favour until Witte, 
with new reasons, once more secured a decision in favour 
of his own Department. This sort of thing, so it is said, 
went on seventeen times, until at last Count Witte 
obtained control of the railway by threatening to resign 
unless the administration was entrusted to the Treasury 
Department. 

The dissatisfaction earlier alluded to not only pervaded 
the lower and middle classes, but also existed in Society 
circles, who adversely criticised the neglect of Court life 
which had become a characteristic of the new reign. The 

279 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

semi-seclusion in which Alexandra Feodorovna lived, 
though it was not so complete as it became later on, still 
was unpleasantly felt in the gay world of the Russian 
•^capital. Gradually she was no longer missed, and her 
presence, when she deigned to be present at an entertain- 
ment, was felt to be more a bore than an honour. And 
in this absence of a Court, Society became lax in its man- 
ners and morals, being certain it would never meet with 
praise or blame whatever it did. Nor did the effect end 
here, for Society, finding no subject for gossip in the doings 
and sayings incidental to the Imperial entertainments, 
which had played such an important part in the winter 
season of St. Petersburg, began to turn its attention else- 
where, and unfortunately politics became the vogue. 

For the first two or three years following the Corona- 
tion things went on more or less as formerly ; but later 
the position of matters in China following upon the Boxer 
rebellion began to engross the attention of our Foreign 
Office and of certain self-styled political personalities. 
The Yalu afl[air as it developed was seized upon b}^ the 
press and subjected to comment of a character neither 
favourable to the Government nor to the Imperial Family. 
Subsequently Russia's relations with Japan entered upon 
a new phase. 

No one in Russia had believed in the Yellow Peril. 
One person alone had foreseen it, and had he lived it is 
probable that things might have taken a different direc- 
tion. This was the head of our Foreign Office, Count 
Muravieff. Unfortunately, he died suddenly at the very 
moment when his talents might have found the oppor- 
tunity for exercise for the benefit of his country. 

Count Muravieff was a curious personality, and he cer- 
tainly deserves more than a passing mention. He was 
the last Russian diplomat of the old school, that of Nessel- 

280 



The Springtide of Discontent 

rode and Gortschakov, who still believed in traditions, and 
who had a political system. 

His career, which was very rapid at the end, dragged 
very slowly at first. For many years he remained in 
Paris, merely as an attache, although he was the great 
favourite and personal friend of Prince Orloff, who took 
him with him when he was removed to Berlin. There he 
soon won for himself the good graces of Prince Bismarck, 
who grew to appreciate and know him well when he filled 
the post of charg6 d'affaires during the long illness of his 
chief. 

Later on he was the right hand of Count Paul Schou- 
valoff, who, though a charming and clever man, a diplo- 
mat by nature, was not one by education. Muravieff, 
on the contrary, was expert in all the finesses du metier, 
and his consummate tact allowed him to be of the greatest 
use to the Ambassador, to whose success in the German 
capital he contributed largely. He was a very quiet man, 
reserved in appearance, but immensely clever, sarcastic 
sometimes, and always delighted when he could achieve 
some kind of success of which the world in general knew 
nothing. He liked to be the hand in the background that 
pulled the strings, yet vanity was as unknown to his 
nature as shrewdness was one of its principal character- 
istics. He was a keen observer, and during the years 
which he spent in Berlin — ^which at the time, owing to the 
immense personality of Prince Bismarck, was the centre 
of the politics of the world — ^he had carefully studied all 
the intricacies of international politics, and had paid 
special attention to the personality of the German 
Chancellor. 

He was ambitious, and one of his great dreams was 
the formation of a coalition against England, whom he 
considered as the traditional enemy of Russia. He hated 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

everything English, and later on, when he came to lead 
Russia's foreign policy, he expressed that hatred by seek- 
ing to destroy English prestige in the Near, as well as 
in the Far, East, where, his clear brain guessed, ^urked 
the danger of the future. When Count Schouvaloff left 
Berlin, Count Muravieff also said good-bye to the German 
capital. He was appointed Russian Minister at the Court 
of Copenhagen, a very coveted post at the time, owing to 
the close ties that existed between the Royal Family of 
Denmark and the Imperial House of Russia. 

Whilst there he won for himself the good graces of 
Queen Louise, and also the regard of the Empress Marie 
Feodorovna. But he was the bete noire of Prince Loba- 
noff, who had succeeded M. de Giers as Minister for 
Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg, and the Prince did all 
he could to put him aside and to oblige him to retire into 
private life. 

Count Muravieff pretended not to perceive this ani- 
mosity, and took all possible care to avoid friction between 
himself and his chief. However, he was not success- 
ful ; indeed, it was said that the decree recalling him from 
Copenhagen was ready, and about to be presented for 
the signature of the Emperor, when Prince Lobanofi sud- 
denly died and, following the advice of his mother, Nicholas 
n. appointed as his successor Count Muravieff. 

In the responsible position which became his, the Count 
applied all his energy to uphold Russian prestige abroad. 
Though he was not favourable to the French alliance, he 
submitted to it, and did his best under circumxstances 
that were not of his choosing, but which he found him- 
self called upon to justify. He sought to cultivate good 
relations with Germany, and one of his favourite dreams 
was the formation of a Russo-German alliance directed 
against England. He did not live to see it realised. 

2S9 



The Springtide of Discontent 

Count Muravieff's wife had been a Princess Gagarine, 
the sister of Madame Skobeleif, the consort of the " White 
General/' Though the last-mentioned union had not 
been a happy one, the relations between the Count and 
his brother-in-law had always remained cordially affec- 
tionate. The two had the same ambitions, and though 
their aims might have been different, yet they sympa- 
thised with each other and relied upon each other's judg- 
ments. It was this last circumstance that was in part 
the cause of the animosity which divided the Minister for 
Foreign Affairs and General Kouropatkine, who held the 
portfoHo of War at that time. 

General Kouropatkine had been the head of the stafi of 
the division commanded by Skobeleff during the Turkish 
War of 1877-78. In that capacity he had done very 
well. The successes of his General had, in a certain 
measure, influenced his career, inasmuch as they had been 
attributed to the wise dispositions Kouropatkine himself 
had made. Kouropatkine was a brave man and a good 
tactician, but one of those people that, while very useful 
in a secondary position, are less successful in actual leader- 
ship. Guided by a first-rate intelligence, such as that 
of Skobeleff, Kouropatkine's best abilities came to the 
front, and as the executive of another person's directions 
he was invaluable. But he lacked not only initiative, 
but also the ability to accurately balance the pros and 
cons of any given position in which he found himself. 
This explains, not so much his mistakes during the con- 
duct of the Japanese War, which perhaps were unavoid- 
able, but the wrong appreciation he had taken of the 
political circumstances that led up to it, and especially of 
the resources of Japan. 

General Kouropatkine's choice as War Minister had 
been partly due to the personal liking of the Emperor. 

2Ss 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Kouropatkine had a certain prestige among the Army, as 
indeed had all those who had served under Skobelef!. As 
such his choice was bound to be popular, and though it 
was not universally approved, yet, all things considered, 
it was welcomed by the public. 

Kouropatkine soon discovered the hidden resentment 
which Nicholas IL nurtured against Japan and the Japanese 
nation, and he at once became a firm partisan of an aggres- 
sive policy directed against the Government of the Mikado. 

Count Muravieff, shrewder than his colleague, on the 
contrary, discouraged these tendencies, with the result 
that dissensions between the two Ministers on that im- 
portant subject became very sharp and did not always end 
to the advantage of the Count. 

One day a quarrel took place in presence of Nicholas 
II. between the two men, and Muravieff insisted upon 
proper preparations being made in regard to the war 
which he felt would be inevitable, saying that the enemy 
whom it was proposed to fight was by no means so despic- 
able as was thought. Also that, especially considering 
the enormous distance between the two countries, no 
precautions ought to be neglected. To this Kouropat- 
kine made the obvious reply that it was evident that the 
Count, not having been a soldier, could not judge of the 
situation, since with the facilities which the completion of 
the Siberian Railway would put at the disposal of Russia, 
a victory of its troops was a foregone conclusion. He 
added that he was so sure of what he was saying that he 
would not even advise the Emperor to send the best 
troops so far, as those already stationed in Siberia would 
be more than sufficient for the work that had to be done. 

Muravieff controlled himself with difiiculty, and when 
he returned home he was almost beside himself with grief 
and rage. He retired to his own room, giving orders not 

^84 



The Springtide of Discontent 

to be disturbed, and there he was found dead a few 
hours later. 

General Kouropatkine thereafter found himself with a 
free field before him. 

A few years, however, dragged on before the war broke 
out. Count Muravieff had been replaced by Count Lams- 
dorff, an inoffensive man, who was the victim of a situa- 
tion not of his own making. In the meanwhile, General 
Kouropatkine started on that journey to Japan, whence 
he returned with more illusions than ever ; and in St. 
Petersburg, as well as in the rest of Russia, the dis- 
satisfaction against the existing order of things grew and 
grew. Everybody felt that a change of some kind ought 
to take place, that a corrective should be applied to the 
generally prevailing uneasiness. People who thought 
themselves wise, statesmen who believed themselves to 
be infallible, all combined to bring about a catastrophe 
such as Russia had not known before, one that was to 
wound the nation in its most sensitive spot — the disdain 
for that yellow race which already had once been its 
master, and whose pride and power it believed it had 
crushed for ever, on that far-off day when the triumphant 
troops of Dmitry Donskoy had driven the Tatar hordes 
back to the plains of Asia. 

One man alone. Count Witte, had done all that was in 
his power t / prevent the outbreak of hostilities with 
Japan. Tha.^ shrewd Minister knew well that in the 
conditions in which Russia found itself at the moment, 
a war, even a victorious one, would have consequences 
which it was difficult to foresee. He, therefore, tried to 
persuade General Kouropatkine to give up his warlike 
plans. But the latter, with the war party at his back, 
overruled the Count. They told the Emperor that the 
country's honour was at stake, and that it was impossible 

285 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

to go back ; that, besides, the victory was as certain as 
anything could be certain in this world ; that the Army 
was prepared ; and that at the first sight of Russian 
regiments the Japanese troops would fly in disorder ; that 
the whole campaign would be a military promenade and 
"*• nothing else. And when at last Witte applied to the 
good sense of Nicholas II. and asked him point-blank 
what advantages he hoped to gain by a war which might 
still be avoided, and which ought to be avoided, even at 
some sacrifice of pride, and amour propre, the Emperor 
is credited with the reply, " Why avoid it ? It is time to 
give some amusement to the nation " ('* II est temps donner 
des distractions au pays "). 

It was under that impression that the Japanese cam- 
paign began. No one believed in its danger, but a good 
many people who shared the conviction that it would end 
in victory for the Russian troops, were, nevertheless, un- 
easy as to the consequences of a war breaking out at a 
time when internal affairs were not in thorough harmony. 
The public mind, in short, began to feel vaguely that dark 
clouds were appearing on the horizon, and that a storm 
of unusual gravity was brewing which would bring destruc- 
tion along with it. 
*-• The Emperor alone remained calm and immovable, 
fully assured of victory, so it was said, because the 
spiritualistic mediums who constituted his most intimate 
society had all prophesied that he would win laurels such 
as no Russian monarch had ever won before. His imme- 
diate surroundings were jubilant also, and sculptured busts 
of himself were presented in great pomp to General Kouro- 
patkine, who had begged for permission to lead personally 
the army at whose head he stood to victory and fame. 
The chauvinist press exulted ; the Novoie Vremia even 
began to anticipate the day when festivities on a hitherto 

386 



The Springtide of Discontent 

unknown scale would signalise the return of the troops 
from the plains of Manchuria laden with spoils. Some 
ladies who wanted to ingratiate themselves into the 
Imperial favour, worked at banners and flags, destined 
to reward the gallant heroes who were being sent to the 
front with such hurrahs and such enthusiasm — enthusiasm 
which, nevertheless, did not go beyond the small circle 
of people who courted the good graces of those in power. 
But outside those circles the war was not popular, and the 
soldier sent to fight so far away from hearth and home 
marched without any other feeling than that of dread and 
apprehension as to the fate that awaited him in those 
distant plains whither he was ordered to go. Slowly the 
distant clouds which I have mentioned were getting 
nearer, appearing darker and darker as they approached ; 
indeed, trouble was at hand, and, unfortunately, those 
who knew it was coming were powerless to avert it. The 
Sovereign had spoken, and he had to be obeyed, even by 
the people who, in the dark, were preparing the day when 
they should attempt to destroy both his Person and his 
Throne. 



287 



CHAPTER TX 

THE WAR WITH JAPAN 

After the Coronation Nicholas II. and his Consort began 
the usual accession visits to foreign Courts required from 
them by the custom in vogue among Sovereigns in such 
cases. They went to Berlin, or rather to Breslau, the 
German capital being avoided by them for some particular 
reason which was not disclosed, and they preferred to 
meet the Emperor William and the Empress in Silesia. 
They also paid their respects to the old Austrian mon- 
arch ; they stayed for some days with Queen Victoria 
at Balmoral ; and last, but not least, they went to Paris, 
where they were received with an enthusiasm such as 
France had not witnessed for many a day. 

Their arrival on the banks of the Seine was an official 
recognition of the Republic such as no Sovereign had 
accorded to it until that day, and which in Russia had been 
merely tolerated, but never treated on a footing of equality 
by of&cial circles. Great preparations were made in Paris 
to receive the Russian Imperial pair, and certainly that 
visit was the occasion of a great social triumph for the 
Empress. She was greatly admired, as was to be ex- 
*pected, and her beauty appealed by its perfection to the 
crowds, who found in her the type of what an Empress 
should be — polite, though not familiar ; and though, 
perhaps, too calm and slightly disdainful, yet condescend- 
ing and kind. She produced an immense sensation at the 
Opera, and for the first time since the long-forgotten days 

288 



The War with Japan 

of the Empire, the cry of '* Vive I'lmpiratrice ! " was 
heard again in the streets of Paris. As for Nicholas II., 
one could see also that he was immensely pleased at the 
reception accorded to him. Russia at that moment was 
on the eve of a great industrial development which, un- 
fortunately, was stopped by the war with Japan, at least 
for a while, and money was wanted in consequence. 

All the Ministers of the Tsar knew this — no one better 
than M. Witte — and that the best means to obtain the 
mone^^ needed from the French Republic was to flatter 
its citizens by this visit. It was a purely sordid affair. 
* * The extraordinary enthusiasm with which he was greeted 
in Paris gave Nicholas II. a wrong impression as to the 
influence which he wielded, or thought he wielded, in the 
European concert, and unfortunately it made him take 
an unjustifiable view^ of the probable attitude of Europe 
in regard to his relations with Japan ; he fully believed 
that when the war came he could count upon the support 
and deep admiration of Europe. 

Unfortunately, too, French people — who in their turn 
were dupes in this comedy of errors, just as were the 
Russians — ^had imagined that this demonstration of friend- 
ship, coming as it did from the representative of an auto- 
cracy that had never before condescended to shake hands 
with the rulers of a republic, meant the realisation of 
their dreams of a revanche and a defensive alliance against 
Germany. 

When the Emperor and Empress returned to Russia they 
found discontent rife. Things had gone from bad to worse. 

Had the war not taken place, the renewed activity of 
the anarchists might have required more time to develop 
into something tangible, but the disasters of the Japanese 
campaign gave them the impulse which had been wanting 
for them to become effective and formidable, 

T 28q 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

The war in itself was not popular, as I have already 
said. And the enthusiasm with which it was begun was 
only on the surface — an enthusiasm engineered by the 
numerous class of Government officials eager to please the 
Sovereign. These folk fondly thought that they would 
impress the Japanese as to the strength of Russia by the 
various ovations with which generals were sent off to 
»the seat of war. •^ No one believed the Japanese could resist ; 
the idea was that they were miserable little beings whose 
efforts at serious warfare were nothing else but ridiculous. 
It was in vain that people who knew better reminded the 
public that these little fellows for years had been train- 
ing themselves in the best military schools in Europe; 
that they had in the space of a few short years com- 
pletely remodelled their customs, their habits, their 
system of government, and could now compare with 
Europeans in the realms of education and capability. 
All these warnings were not only disregarded but laughed 
at ; the possibility of a defeat never entered anyone's 
mind. 

In Russia no one was prepared for the dangers of the 
war which was begun with such a light heart. The troops 
in Siberia with whom General Kouropatkine believed he 
could win the campaign were not only totally inferior in 
numbers, but also insufficiently equipped and clothed. 
Sanitary arrangements were not thought of at all, and 
until the first detachments of the Red Cross Brigade arrived 
on the field of action the wounded were but scantily 
attended to. Commissariat also was in a state of com- 
plete disorganisation; and as for adequate armaments, 
practically none exiisted. As the best example of this. 
Port Arthur may well be mentioned. Though on paper 
this fortress had been entirely rebuilt during the previous 
five years, in reality the only work done had been the 

590 



The War with Japan 

digging of a few ditches and trenches, and even these 
were not where they were really required. 

Other abuses were rife. The commissariat, though cost- 
ing enormous sums, yet failed to supply soldiers as well 
as officers with the most necessary things. The men had 
warm clothes in summer and no furs in winter. Shoes 
were for the most part of so abominable a quality that 
the infantry preferred to walk barefooted. The means of 
transport were such as to cause the most dreadful tortures 
for the victims destined to travel for weeks on a railway 
line badly built, and in carriages devoid of the most 
elementary comforts. The trucks in which the army was 
forwarded to Manchuria were so old that one can only 
wonder by what miracle they did not fall to pieces on the 
road. Yet, according to the reports presented by the 
War Office, everything possible had been done to trans- 
port the troops quickly to the field of action. 
•• The Emperor was assured that his army was ready, 
and that the Japanese army was in a most weak condition, 
quite unprepared for a struggle of any serious kind. It 
has even been maintained by some that this report 
constitutes one of those crimes which no nation can ever 
forgive to its author. The then War Minister had gone 
to Manchuria with the avowed purpose of examining for 
himself what chances of success there were for an aggressive 
policy on the part of Russia. He was given the utmost 
freedom for his own ideas ; he had been told to study 
carefully the resources of Japan, its desires, and its aims. 
He had been well received by the Mikado and by his 
Ministers, and with true Slav laziness had believed all 
that he had been told, and only looked at what had been 
shown to him. Warnings had not failed him ; officers 
whose duties lay on that distant Manchurian frontier had 
reported to him the enormous preparations made by Japan, 

291 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and drawn his attention to the care with which all our 
armaments had been studied by competent Japanese 
officers. Their misgivings had not been entertained by 
Kouropatkine, who upon his return to Russia addressed a 
long report to the Emperor, in which, among other things, 
was said : 

" Japan at the present moment is reorganising its army and 
navy, and proceeding very slowly with this task. Japanese 
officers, though they have studied at our academy as weU as 
in military schools in Germany, have not mastered the various 
workings of European tactics. They are still savage and 
untrained, and their army could not very well at present engage 
in any conflict with us. It is true that they are ambitious, 
and that the annexation of Korea is their earnest desire, but 
they have no means of satisfying that ambition. If we want 
to strike at their military or naval organisation, we could not 
select a more favourable moment than the present one, when 
everything is still in a state of chaos, and when Japan, having 
ceased to be an Asiatic nation, is nevertheless far from resembling 
a European one. As regards ourselves, we are perfectly ready, 
and could in the space of thirteen days have four hundred 
thousand men on the Japanese frontier, which is three times 
as many as would be needed to repulse the army of our adver- 
sary. The war would be a simple military promenade, and 
no necessity could even arise of moving any of our troops from 
the German or Austrian frontier or to diminish the garrisons 
in Poland." 

This report is one which Russia will not soon forgive. 
Mistakes of tactics and strategy were not of such import- 
ance that they could not be condoned, for there were terrible 
difficulties to be faced, and perhaps no one could have 
done better than the responsible Minister. Yet not to 
have been able to appreciate the strength of the enemy 
he knew he would be called upon to fight, not to notice 
his preparations, not to pay attention to the warnings 
which he received was a fault impossible to justify to pos- 
terity or history, even though dozens of books be wTitten 

292 



The War with Japan 

in the attempt. Critics consider that a Minister of War 
ought to have known the condition of the army of which 
he was the head ; and as a responsible adviser of his 
Sovereign he ought, before telling him things w^hich it is 
difficult to credit that he believed himself, to have seriously 
considered whether he had the right, in order to please 
that Sovereign, to sacrifice the dignity of his country and 
the prestige of its troops. The battle of Liao Yang was 
certainly a terrible misfortune ; the retreat that followed 
upon it was perhaps a disgraceful incident, but it cannot 
be gainsaid that the initial blunder out of which all these 
calamities arose was the report of General Kouropatkine. 

A further calamity was that the Commander-in-Chief 
was not liked by the troops in his charge, his personality 
did not inspire them with enthusiasm. He had little moral 
authority over his troops, who were equally indifferent 
to his praise or to his blame. One caustic writer said, 
" He was a nonentity until the moment when he became 
useless." 

The quick way in which Japan took the offensive at 
the beginning of the war is still fresh in people's minds. 
At first this unexpected movement with which the cam- 
paign opened, and which involved the destruction of two 
war vessels, struck consternation throughout the whole 
of Russia. Then a reaction came ; the press tried to 
quieten people's apprehensions, and to persuade the public 
that this meant nothing, and that the reverse was because 
war not having been yet officially declared, our officers 
were not on their guard. So everyone tried to make the 
best of bad circumstances, and to hope for news of a victory, 
a culmination in which everybody, beginning with the 
Emperor, firmly believed. 

Alas, victory never came ; and though individual acts 
of courage were not rare during these sad months, yet upon 

293 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the whole no success of any magnitude attended Russian 
arms. Several incidents in that disastrous campaign struck 
home to the whole country, and opened its eyes to the 
deplorable nature of the situation. Even St. Petersburg 
Society, usually so impassive, became excited, and brilliant 
officers of the Guards, moved to indignation at the turn 
things were taking, asked as a favour permission to go to 
the front. Such permission was grudgingly granted ; 
people of independent opinions might then see for them- 
selves what was happening and make public the tragedy 
which was taking place in those far-away Manchurian 
plains. Circumstances, however, grew too strong for him, 
and finally Kouropatkine allowed these volunteers on the 
field of operations, to observe the disasters which his mis- 
placed self-confidence had brought about. 

When the Petropavlosk went down in the Pacific with 
its load of human beings and the brave Admiral Makaroff, 
together with his staff, consternation prevailed in St. Peters- 
burg. The Emperor called a council of war to deliberate 
over what ought to be done in order to redeem the lost, or 
at least seriously impaired, prestige of the country. Some- 
one suggested that the best course would be to conclude 
peace before events became too strong for the country, 
since the situation might become such that M^ould cause 
the Japanese to demand terms which would be quite un- 
acceptable to Russian honour and pride ; but this sug- 
gestion was very quickly overruled, and it was decided to 
reinforce the Manchurian army, and to send the Baltic 
fleet over the seas to make a naval demonstration before 
Japanese ports. 

This last suggestion was made by the Emperor him- 
self. It was received with consternation by those who 
heard it, but no one dared to contradict it. One officer 
alone tried to expose the dangers attending such a resolution. 

294 



The War with Japan 

His arguments were eloquent, and should have been con- 
vincing, but he was not listened to. Nicholas II. declared 
that it was his wish the fleet should start, and added that 
he felt convinced it would not be called upon to fight, 
because the very fact of its being sent would frighten the 
Japanese into asking for peace. He would not take into 
consideration the fact, in the first place, that Russians 
are not naturally sailors, the dangers of the voyage, the 
difficulty the ships would find in coaling, and the rotten 
state that several of the vessels sent on this adventurous 
excursion were in. He would not believe that the men-of- 
war composing this famous fleet were old and no longer 
seaworthy, that their armaments were singularly out of 
date, and that their crews were all more or less in a 
condition of rebellion against the Government, whom they 
accused of having been the principal cause of the present 
disasters. He simply said : " I want the fleet to start, 
and it must do so as quickly as possible." 

It was a sad day when this decision of the Tsar became 
public— sad for Russia and sad for the men sent to die. 
None of the officers of that ill-fated squadron believed he 
would return alive from this senseless expedition, and the 
farewells exchanged with the dear ones left at home were 
more than mournful. All these men knew they were 
about to die, and that the months left to them would be 
one long agony at the thought of the fate to meet which 
they were starting. And one bleak, rainy morning, amidst 
tears and sobs of bereaved wives and mothers, the Baltic 
fleet sailed away towards distant Tsushima. Nicholas II. 
had come to bid it good-bye, as if in order to hear the 
famous words, ''Ave, Ccesar ! morituri te salutantf" 



295 



CHAPTER X 

MUKDEN AND TSUSHIMA 

I WILL not Speak of the opening episodes of the war, nor 
of the early battles which one after another, in sad suc- 
cession, were lost by the Russian troops. I will not even 
say much about the siege of Port Arthur and the sequel, 
which added shameful pages to the mournful ones of its 
defence and surrender. There, also, irreparable mistakes 
were made, and stupidities crowded on the top of each 
other. Whilst the siege lasted, people were loud in the 
praise of General Stossel and his bravery, notwithstanding 
that it was very well known he was unequal to the mission 
imposed on him. It was an open secret in St. Petersburg 
that it was owing to the efforts of General Kondratenko, 
the head of his staff, that the fortress had ever held out 
so long against the Japanese forces. It was another open 
secret that the most disgraceful financial jobbery and 
money-making were charged against the Commander of 
Port Arthur, and in these accusations his wife was involved. 
It was generally believed that they sold the milk and 
other provisions to the sick and wounded at extortionate 
prices, and that they engaged in the most shameful bar- 
gains in regard to the stores over which the General held 
authority. All this was common talk and common know- 
ledge, and yet the public was full of admiration, a com- 
manded admiration, for General Stossel and the brave 
defence which he made. 

Perhaps this was just as well, because it would have 

296 



Mukden and Tsushima 

been of no use to attempt to blame him whilst he was 
in charge of a responsible post from which it was not even 
possible to remove him. But then, why, when all was 
over, when the legend that had accumulated round his 
head had transformed him into a hero, why deny this 
very legend ? Or, after having covered the General with 
honours, allowing him even to accept foreign distinctions 
such as the decoration Pour le Merite given to him by 
the German Emperor, why tear from his shoulders the 
epaulettes that, rightly or wrongly, had been given to 
him ? Why enlighten the world as to the shameful story 
of that siege, and the way the defence of the town was 
conducted ? Why begin that counterfeit court-martial 
which told Europe that instead of a hero General Stossel 
was a coward and a traitor ? 

The stupidity of such a course of action is evident 
even to the veriest outsider. It would have been far 
better to have let the legend remain undisturbed, to throw 
a veil of oblivion over what could not be changed or mended, 
and not to break the hearts of those who had done their 
duty, and done it well, too — ^the officers and soldiers com- 
posing the garrison of Port Arthur, who found themselves 
mixed up in this deplorable affair, and upon whose inno- 
cent shoulders was thrown the burden of having been 
connected with a story of sordidness, cupidity, and 
cowardice for which they were not responsible, but the 
shade of which was to darken their lives for ever. 

Only to rehabilitate them in the world's sight do I 
reopen the sad and shameful story of their betrayal and 
Russia's. 

There is an episode of the siege of Port Arthur which 
is very little known and which deserves special mention. 
When the news of General Kondratenko's death was brought 
to the Commander of Port Arthur, his first words were, 

297 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

" Has he left any special letters or instructions, or 
have any reports been found among his papers ? " It 
seems that the day before he was so tragically killed, 
Kondratenko had had a heated discussion with General 
Stossel. The latter was upholding the necessity of a 
prompt surrender of the town, but the former strongly 
opposed the suggestion, using many arguments, amongst 
which the principal was that some of the forts still held 
could hold on for about three weeks longer, and that it 
would be time to talk of surrender when these had fallen 
or been destroyed. Stossel then said that a quantity of 
valuable property was locked up in these forts, and that 
it would be useless to allow it to be wasted. Now the 
property about which the Commander-in-Chief was so 
anxious belonged almost entirely to himself and to his 
wife, and had been removed for better safety to the very 
forts which the Chief of the Staff proposed to sacrifice 
before surrendering to the enemy. Kondratenko was 
known to possess a violent temper, and he turned upon 
his chief, and, calling him traitor and other words of the 
same character, declared that he would at once send a 
report to St. Petersburg concerning this incident, and 
denouncing Stossel as failing in his duty because of personal 
cupidity. A few hours later Kondratenko was killed, and, 
as has been told, the first words of Stossel upon hearing of 
it were to inquire what had become of his papers, in which 
he evidently feared to find a confirmation of the threats 
the dead man had made. 

Kondratenko was excessively popular among the troops. 
He was known to be extremely brave, and mindful of the 
soldiers confided to his care. His death was deeply 
deplored, and it completely discouraged the garrison of 
the besieged town, so that when General Stossel immedi- 
ately thereafter formally proposed to surrender, scarcely a 

298 



Mukden and Tsushima 

voice was raised in opposition, and it was felt that the 
sad end of this memorable siege being inevitable, the 
sooner it took place the better. 

One officer alone proposed to try to communicate once 
more with the Commander-in-Chief, and to ask for his 
instructions. Upon that General Stossel took from his 
portfolio a letter from General Kouropatkine, telling him 
that he left him free to do what he thought best without 
referring to anyone. Stossel declared that this letter 
was sufficient to safeguard his responsibility, and that he 
took it upon himself to send an envoy to General Nogi. 

Later on, when the General was tried, a friend both 
of his and of General Kouropatkine came to see him, and 
begged him not to produce this letter during the trial ; 
it was promised in return to so arrange matters that even 
if he were condemned an Imperial pardon would follow 
upon the verdict. What interest was involved in the 
concealment of this document — ^which in a certain measure 
would have explained General Stossel's course of action, 
even if it would not have justified it — ^has never been 
known to this day. Some people affirm that in writing 
thus General Kouropatkine had for his excuse political 
reasons upon which it was unnecessary to enlighten the 
public. 

When Port Arthur had fallen it was felt that the first 
part of the war was over, and that unless a decisive battle 
turned the tables upon the Japanese their success was 
an accomplished fact. That battle was expected with 
eagerness by the whole of Russia, where existed still a 
vague hope that when Kouropatkine should have enough 
troops at his disposal he would be able to attack the enemy 
successfully, notwithstanding the unfavourable conditions 
in which he as well as his army found themselves placed. 
Everyone urged him to attempt a supreme effort which 

299 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

was to avenge all the disasters of the past. But instead, 
Kouropatkine, who had now lost his nerve, continued 
slowly to withdraw his forces, retiring no one knew why 
or whither. 

He had a friend, General Gripenberg, who was in com- 
mand of one of the three army corps that were to operate 
simultaneously against the enemy. That officer, however, 
found himself differing so entirely from the Commander-in- 
Chief as to the tactics which ought to be pursued, that 
Gripenberg asked Kouropatkine point-blank what object 
he had in avoiding with such manifest care a battle that 
would at least have the advantage of clearing the air and 
giving some new energy to the demoralised troops. The 
latter replied that he thought that by drawing the Japan- 
ese army into the interior of the country he would tire it, 
and thus by sapping its moral render it the more easily 
to be beaten. 

It is said that Gripenberg laughed outright at this 
plan, and the two friends at once became bitter enemies. 
The Commander-in-Chief tried in vain to reason with his 
former comrade ; he implored him not to abandon him at 
such a critical moment, and not to give their common foe 
the satisfaction of witnessing the dissensions which divided 
them. Gripenberg remained inflexible : " Once more," he 
said, " I ask you, will you or will you not change your 
decision and attack the Japanese ? " "I cannot do so," 
replied Kouropatkine. " Then I cannot stay here, or obey 
your orders, and I shall leave for St. Petersburg, and myself 
report to the Emperor all that is being done here, and 
the incapacity of which you give new^ proofs every day." 
In this way the two generals parted. 

Gripenberg, as he threatened, went to St. Petersburg. 
He saw the Emperor, with whom he had a long talk, and 
was rewarded for his journey by being appointed an aide- 

300 



Mukden and Tsushima 

de-camp general to the Sovereign. It was felt that by 
conferring this dignity upon him Nicholas II. was blam- 
ing Kouropatkine for his inaction, but nevertheless no 
change of Commander-in-Chief was announced as being in 
contemplation. 

Gossip, however, became more busy than ever con- 
cerning the events that were taking place in Manchuria, 
and the last hopes anybody had cherished of a victory 
died away. It was felt that it would be best to conclude 
an honourable peace before a crowning disaster com- 
pletely wrecked the reputation of the Russian army and 
of the generals in command. 

Whilst the capital was busy with comments on his 
course of action, General Kouropatkine at last made up 
his mind to attack the Japanese forces, and did so without 
apparently taking the least precautions to ensure the 
safety of the retreat of his army in case of a defeat. ^ 

What induced him to make this desperate attempt no 
one knows. Perhaps he felt he had to justify his former 
inaction ; perhaps, also, he thought it better to end the 
suspense in which his army as well as his country existed 
from day to day. At all events, he did attack the Japanese 
army, and thus initiated one of the most disastrous military 
events of modern times. 

Everybody knows that the Russian forces were de- 
feated ; but what is not so well known, what remains 
unexplained to this day, was the panic that followed upon 
it, as well as the details of the subsequent retreat. Panic 
seized the troops, who rushed blindly away from the enemy 
without being aware whither they hastened. Their only 
desire was to get aw^ay from bullets and shells ; to flee 
from a danger which often did not exist in the vicinity 
from which they retreated. A disordered troop of frantic 
men dragged itself through these vast Manchurian plains 

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Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

in the depth of winter, with all the horrors of cold, wind, 
and snow accompanying their retreat and adding to its 
poignancy. In that flight no one knew friend from foe ; 
the soldiers, badly clad, tore from the dead bodies of the 
Japanese their winter clothes and shoes, heedless of the 
danger that these borrowed garments might bring to them. 
To understand the significance of this it is necessary to 
picture the situation in the darkness of the night, when 
it became impossible to distinguish friends from foes, and 
when one killed everyone that one met on one*s way for 
dread of being killed oneself. 

Horrible scenes were enacted in that cold, frozen desert 
through which the Russian troops, wearied, famished, and 
bereft of courage as well as of strength, had to drag them- 
selves. The few people who found a piece of bread or 
a warm piece of clothing were sure to have it snatched 
from them by ravenous, half-frozen creatures in whom 
despair had destroyed every feeling of humanity ; mercy 
existed no more ; every man became a wild beast. No 
orders were listened to ; indeed, there was no one to give 
orders. Officers as well as men had only one thought : to 
escape from the terrors of cold and starvation, to forget 
if only for a moment that nightmare of hopeless agony 
through which they had to grope their way towards a 
haven which they could neither see nor even believe in. 

How many days that delirium of torment lasted no 
one knows, because no survivor can tell how long it took 
to reach a spot where could be breathed air uncontami- 
nated with fear or with disaster. Some found shelter ; 
others, with no strength left to go farther, fell on the 
road and either died through being buried in the snow or 
being choked by the mud of those dreadful plains, which 
were impassable at that time of the year ; or, still living, 
were devoured by birds of prey, without the strength to 

302 



Mukden and Tsushima 

resist. x\n officer relates that, whilst trying to rally some 
of his men, he was startled by the moans of some creature 
in agony, and trudging through the darkness to the spot 
whence these moans proceeded he found a soldier weakly 
struggling with a huge vulture, who had begun to snap at 
his arm and was tearing the flesh off in pieces. As for 
horses, no sooner had they fallen than eagles and other 
birds of prey threw themselves upon their bodies and 
very quickly tore every piece of flesh from the bones. 
These birds were so inhumanly bold and so sure of the 
quarry that was awaiting them, that they refused to be 
driven away, hovering over the heads of the miserable 
beings who were running for their lives. This sinister 
escort only added to the horror that had already seized 
these poor wretches. It was worse than fighting, worse 
than hearing the bullets whistling in one's ears ; far worse 
even than the screaming of shell fire. It was a ghastly 
reminder of the inevitable end. To listen to the noise 
of the great wings flapping in every direction seemed as 
if the angel of death was mockingly and mercilessly jour- 
neying with them, ready any moment to snatch up the 
souls of men. 

I find it utterly impossible to give an idea of all the 
terrible things that occurred during this retreat of Mukden. 
Even the Japanese, hardened as they were, were moved 
to pity by the sufferings of the Russian army, fighting for 
its life under such awful conditions. As for the victims, 
they became at last quite indifferent to their woes ; it all 
seemed so endless, so hopeless, that it was better quietly 
to submit, and to rely on fate either to save or to kill as 
might be. 

The Red Cross detachments, as usual, behaved heroic- 
ally, but they also were left with practically no other 
resources than their devotion to their duty. Often it 

S03 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

happened that the horses harnessed to the carts that 
carried the wounded fell on the way, and instantly these 
were seized by hungry soldiers and eaten with relish, even 
raw. Then the sisters and doctors transferred their 
charges to other vehicles, and often pulled these carts 
themselves with ropes until they could find other animals 
to drag them on. Brave men who had seen other battle- 
fields, and were used to the horrors of war, became white- 
haired and aged during those terrible days, and, when it 
was all over, never cared to think of them or hear them 
mentioned. It was a nightmare, and worse than a night- 
mare. 

When at last the remnants of that army, to whom so 
many victories had been promised, were gathered to- 
gether, and rallied into something like order. General 
Kouropatkine made up his mind to resign the position 
which he held and the responsibilities which he had never 
been able to understand, because he never realised their 
moment. He wrote to the Emperor asking to be relieved 
from his command, saying that he had been so unlucky 
that he feared the army had lost confidence in him. Speak- 
ing thus, he flattered himself. The army had not lost 
confidence ; it had never had any in his capacity or his 
ability to lead it. The General's resignation was accepted 
by his Sovereign, and he was allowed to come back to 
Russia to " exonerate " himself and to explain in his 
own way the causes of the disasters that had accumu- 
lated upon his country and upon himself. 

An old officer, whose whole life had been spent on 
active service — General Linevitch — ^was given the respon- 
sible post of Commander-in-Chief. He did the best he 
could do under the trying and difficult circumstances in 
which he found himself placed, but he could not restore 
confidence. The troops — among whom the war in the 

304 



Mukden and Tsushima 

abstract had never been popular — -had only one idea, and 
that was to return home and to see peace concluded, no 
matter under what conditions. 

General Linevitch at once asked for reinforcements, 
and during the months that followed new troops were 
sent every day to Manchuria. They went rebellious and 
exasperated at the idea of fighting in what they consi- 
dered to be a forlorn cause. It has often been made a 
reproach to Count Witte that he concluded peace at Ports- 
mouth at the very time when, the army having been 
considerably strengthened, a renewal of the campaign 
might have brought back victory to the Russian arms. 
Nevertheless, all such reproaches were unmerited. The 
great reason that made Count Witte sign the famous 
treaty was his knowledge of the dissatisfied condition of 
the bulk of the army, and the conviction that existed 
among all who were aware of what was actually going on 
in Manchuria, that if they were ordered to march again, 
the troops very probably would refuse to obey. Revolu- 
tion was everywhere in the air, and by allowing the 
opportunity given of obtaining more or less favourable con- 
ditions of settlement with Japan to escape, was to incur 
the far greater risk of insubordination and revolution. In 
that awful disaster everything had perished, even the 
devotion of the soldier to his flag. 

Whilst the tragedy of the Manchurian plains was going 
on, the Baltic fleet, under the orders of Admiral Rozhdest- 
vensky, was sailing towards Vladivostok, and preparing 
itself to encounter the Japanese squadrons, which they well 
knew were far superior to their own, both as regards 
numbers and armaments. It was a sad journey ; all the 
men who had been sent on it, against all warnings sugges- 
ted by reason and a knowledge of the conditions under which 
they were being dispatched, were certain that they would 
u 305 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

never return to their country and to those dear ones to 
whom they had bade good-bye with an anguish that they 
dared not express. The crews also were despondent. As 
for the vessels themselves, they were, for the greater part, 
old ships, unfit to stand such a long voyage, and neither 
armed properly nor equipped according to modern require- 
ments. It was a hopeless enterprise, and all concerned 
knew it but too well. 

Nevertheless, the fleet did its duty. On that grey 
May morning when the Japanese men-of-war vv^ere first 
encountered, it desperately prepared to fight, and at 
least to try to avert the shame of falling into the enemy's 
hands. But when the first shot fell on the immensity 
of the sea and shook its calm, it was as a funeral knell 
for thousands of lives about to be destroyed. 

Their agony did not last long. It was not like at 
Mukden, a struggle of days and weeks, leaving its victims 
indifferent even to death. At Tsushima a few short 
hours saw the end. The Russian vessels were very quickly 
silenced ; some were taken by the enemy, others sank in 
the waves. One ship escaped, forced her way through 
the Japanese fleet, and carried to Vladivostok the news 
of the disaster. Soon it reached Russia, and terrible was 
the despair which the tidings caused. It was felt that 
after this unprecedented calamity no hope was left to 
the country, and that once more the yellow race, immense, 
implacable, was going to crush the empire of the Tsars. 
Scarcely an eye was dry on that memorable day when one 
heard in St. Petersburg of the new victory of the Japanese 
arms, and few but were not crushed by the shame and 
humiliation which the country was undergoing : a shame 
that nothing could redeem. 
" ♦ One person alone kept cool and calm ; it was the 

Emperor who, when he was told of the misfortune, read 

306 



Mukden and Tsushima 

quietly the dispatch describing it, and after having done 
so went on with the game of tennis that he had interrupted 
in order to peruse it. So ran the story. Here was the 
whole of Russia mourning her children, yet — ^the inference 
is inevitable — the event was not of sufficient importance 
to make Nicholas II. abandon the healthy exercise he 
liked to indulge in on bright summer afternoons ! 



307 



CHAPTER XI 

THE BIRTH OF THE TSAREVITCH 

Whilst the war was running its course the Emperor, in 
the solitude of his palace at Tsarskoye Selo, was anxiously 
awaiting the day when the Empress would again become 
a mother. In the years that had elapsed since he had 
wedded Alexandra Feodorovna, four daughters had been 
born to the Imperial couple, and their arrival into the 
world had been a source of bitter disappointment to their 
parents. The idea that the Throne could pass to a col- 
lateral line was a cruel grief for Nicholas II. In his first 
manifesto issued to the nation, on the day of his acces- 
sion, he had proclaimed as his heir his brother, the Grand 
Duke George Alexandrovitch, to whom was granted the 
title of " Grand Duke Tsarevitch," generally borne only 
by heirs apparent, and not presumptive. The manifesto 
added that this title was only to be borne until God '* had 
seen fit to bless with the birth of a son" the marriage 
of the Sovereign, which was then about to take place. 
But the years went on, and the much-wished-for boy 
still had not arrived to fill with joy his parents' hearts. 
As one girl after another came to increase the Imperial 
Family, people at last gave up the idea that the Empress 
would ever become the mother of a male heir, and this 
did not add to her popularity. 

In the meantime, the Grand Duke George, whose 
health had always been more or less delicate, developed 
acute symptoms of tuberculosis. He was at first ordered 

308 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

to the South of France, whither his mother, the Empress 
Marie Feodorovna, accompanied him, but he derived no 
benefit from his stay. 

At last he was sent to the Caucasus to try what high 
mountain air would do for him. The Grand Duke liked 
the Caucasus, and especially the free kind of life he was 
able to lead in the residence which he had built for him- 
self on the heights above Abbas Touman, in the vicinity 
of the Kazbek. He was of a very retiring disposition, 
timid in the extreme, and was never more at his ease than 
with his inferiors or people with whom he need not trouble 
himself to stand upon ceremony. He knew that, as Suc- 
cessor to the Throne, he was not looked upon with friendly 
eyes by a certain section of the Court, although he had 
no ambition whatsoever, and only wanted to be left alone. 
This made his retirement more congenial ; he felt he had 
more independence than he could have obtained in St. 
Petersburg had he stayed there. His mother visited him 
frequently, and endeavoured to persuade him to return 
to the capital, if only for a few months during the sum- 
mer season, but he constantly refused, declaring he was 
quite happy amid the rugged beauty of the wild sur- 
roundings. People said that he had found another attrac- 
tion at Abbas Touman, and that he was secretly married 
to a lady he had met there. It is difficult to know how 
much truth there was in this rumour, but it is certain that 
some legend, full of intangible mystery, hovered about 
the Grand Duke George, and that, when talking about 
him, people supposed to be well informed gravely shook 
their heads and said that " it was a pity, a great pity." 
They would never explain, however, why they used such 
words. 

But, as years went on, the public ceased to interest 
itself in the doings of the Tsarevitch, until, one fine sum- 

309 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

mer day, it was startled by the news of his sudden and 
unexpected death. 

Tragedy was not absent from it, and the end of the 
second son of Alexander III. had something appalling 
through the extraordinary circumstances that accom- 
panied it. He had gone out alone for a ride on his bicycle, 
as he often did in fine weather. As he did not return in 
time for dinner, people began to get anxious, and his 
attendants started in search of him. They met on the way 
an old woman, who related that she was seeking help for 
an officer who had fallen on the road and evidently hurt 
himself. That officer proved to be the Tsarevitch, who 
was found lying on the grass, with blood oozing out of his 
mouth, and already lifeless. It was related later on that 
he had been seized with sudden haemorrhage from the 
lungs, and had died before help could come ; but the real 
circumstances attending that sad end never were known, 
or, if known, never told to anyone. 

The attendants of the Grand Duke were severely 
blamed for allowing him to go out alone on such expedi- 
tions ; but they tried to excuse themselves by saying 
that he refused to be accompanied by anyone in his fre- 
quent and much enjoyed mountain excursions, and that 
it was next to impossible to disobey him. True or not, 
the excuse was admitted, and the remains of George 
Alexandrovitch were brought back with great pomp to 
St. Petersburg and laid to rest in the fortress beside those 
of his father. The Empress Dowager was perhaps the 
only person who really mourned for him ; in Court 
circles one felt that his death was the solution of a 
difficulty which would inevitably have arisen had cir- 
cumstances occurred to dispossess him of the title of 
Tsarevitch. His brother, the Grand Duke Michael, was 

not, however, awarded the title, but merely recognised as 

310 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

heir presumptive to the Crown, without any other 
qualification. 

This Grand Duke had been the favourite child of 
Alexander III., and as such enjoyed the affection of the 
nation. But he, too, was of a retiring disposition, and 
though he represented his brother with much dignity on 
important State occasions, such as the funeral of Queen 
Victoria and the Coronation of King Edward VII., it 
was very well known that his tastes did not lie that way, 
and that he preferred home life to any kind of festivity. 
He gave a proof of the direction in which his tastes lay 
when he married the lady of his heart against the wishes 
of the present Tsar and of the Dowager Empress. In 
consequence, he was deprived of his right to a possible 
Regency, and even of his civil rights ; moreover, the 
management of his own private financial affairs and of 
his personal properties were also taken away from him. 

After the birth of the fourth daughter of Nicholas II., 
the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaievna, the Empress 
gave herself up entirely to practices of a narrow devotion, 
mixed with superstition. 

* « It was then that rumours arose that she favoured the 
visits of spiritualistic mediums. Also a report was cir- 
culated that she went from convent to convent and from 
church to church, promising golden vestments to all the 
miraculous images of the Virgin, of which there are 
such a considerable number in Russia, if only she were 
granted through their intervention the son for whom 
her soul longed.. 

Following upon this, according to popular report, the 
Empress fell into a kind of melancholia that gave at one 
time considerable cause for anxiety to her medical attend- 
ants. As one misfortune after another crowded upon 
the country, that melancholy took an acute shape, and 

311 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

it is not to be wondered that when, after an interval of 
two years or something of the kind, there appeared again 
in her state of health a likelihood of her becoming a mother, 
the event was awaited with anxious expectation, not 
only by herself but also by the Emperor. 

It was about this period that the revolutionary pro- 
paganda, which previously had only slumbered, began to 
show renewed activity. Discontent had reached its 
height, and it is only to be wondered that the era of poli- 
tical assassination under which Russia was to be terrorised 
for such a number of years, and which it is to be feared 
is not yet ended, did not begin sooner. Indeed, the 
anarchist party had from the very beginning of the reign 
of Nicholas II. evinced signs of preparation and activity, 
believing that it had at last some chance to push through 
its programme of bloody reforms, because events had 
given some colourable pretext for remonstrance. 

Elsewhere I have given the actual text — never before 
published — of the letter which Nicholas II. received from 
the Revolutionary Committee in answer to his " sense- 
less dreams " speech. His only feeling when he read it 
was indignation at the audacity of those people who thus 
tried to rule the actions of the Sovereign and to reprove 
them by sketching out to him a programme of govern- 
ment so different from his own. He instructed his Minis- 
ters to find out the authors of this message. Immediately 
were put into requisition all the numerous political spies 
that the police has at its disposal. ••The Universities 
especially were watched, as it was well known that among 
the students a great percentage of anarchists was to 
be found. Immediately after these measures had been 
adopted an extraordinary agitation could be observed in 
all the higher educational establishments, and one February 

afternoon and evening manifestations of students took 

312 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

place on the Nevski Prospekt, in front of the Anitchkov 
Palace, where the Emperor was residing with his mother 
and his young wife. 

At that time, however, the special service of the 
Okhrana, or personal guard of the Sovereign, still existed. 
General Tcherevine took energetic, though not violent, 
measures to put an end to the disorder, so that it might 
not have time to develop itself dangerously or to disturb 
—outwardly at least — ^the established order of things. 

But after the Coronation matters changed, and the 
revolutionary committees became more active. The cata- 
strophe of the Khodinka Field was used to attack the person 
of the Sovereign, and they did not spare him. Anarchist 
proclamations were distributed right and left, and in reply 
tht police made wholesale arrests without due discrimina> 
tion between the people whom it suspected of favouring 
the active revolutionary propaganda and those who were 
really guilty. 

Among the persons who were thus imprisoned was a 
young girl of extraordinary talent and beauty, who, though 
full of sympathy for the cause of what she considered 
liberty, had, nevertheless, never been in commimication 
with the leaders of the anarchist party. Some forbidden 
books had been found during a police search that had 
taken place in the rooms which she occupied in some fur- 
nished lodgings, and this afforded quite sufficient pretext 
to arrest her and transfer her to the fortress. 

What took place during some six months that she 
spent there, separated from everybody, and not even 
allowed to communicate at first with her own father and 
mother, no one knows. Certainly some cruel scenes must 
have been enacted, because one day, at the very time 
when, owing to energetic efforts on the part of her friends, 
Mademoiselle Vietroff was about to be released, she was 

313 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

^•^ found dead in her cell, burned to death under the most 
horrible circumstances. She had had the courage to 
empty over her bedclothes the oil out of a paraffin lamp 
that she was allowed to have, and to set fire to them, after 
having laid herself down on the bed, where she remained 
until the flames had done their work. 

The scandal was enormous, and people wondered what 
could have induced this lovely, charming, highly gifted 
girl, to commit such an awful suicide. Dark things were 
hinted at, and terrible rumours accused the authorities 
of the prison of having driven her to seek release from 
suffering and shame through the only means left at her 
disposal. 

Immediately after her funeral imposing manifestations 
by students took place in front of the Kazan Cathedral, 
and proclamations were freely distributed among the 
public relating the details of this terrible death. 

The sensation caused by it was equal to that which 
seized upon Russian Society when, under the reign of 
Alexander II., Vera Zassoulitch fired upon the Prefect of 
St. Petersburg, General Trepof!. That attempted murder 
was the beginning of another phase of the revolutionary 
movement which ended with the assassination of the 
Emperor. Mademoiselle Vietroff 's suicide opened the later 
phase out of which was to burst the Revolution which 
claimed so many victims in 1905. 

The country did not recover its calm after that sad 
occurrence. Students and Universities became more active 
than ever in trying to sow discontent among the working 
classes, and especially in the factories, where anarchist 
ideas generally find the most support. The Government, 
us usual, blundered ; either they did not see the danger, 
or saw it too late, or, again, looked for it there where it did 
not exist. It persecuted uselessly young boys led astray 

3H 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

by their comrades, and utterly unable to endanger public 
order, and it let alone the most mischievous leaders of the 
movement who succeeded in removing suspicion from 
themselves. The police behaved atrociously in its mea- 
sures of repression. Sure of the protection of the Tsar, the 
police proceeded in the most ruthless manner to persecute 
every manifestation of public opinion, when it imagined 
it was directed against its authority, and it had no regard 
as to the personality of those whom it thought fit to 
attack. Thus one day, a general in a very high position, 
who held the important post of administrator of the pri- 
vate fortune of the Imperial Family, Prince Viazemsky, 
happened to pass along the square opposite the Kazan 
Cathedral whilst the police were trying to disperse some 
groups of students who had assembled there for a funeral 
mass for one of their comrades. He was so indignant at 
the brutality displayed in securing the dispersal that he 
interfered in order to put an end to it. Immediately the 
head of the secret service of the Okhrana complained to 
the Emperor, who, without even listening to the explana- 
tions which Prince Viazemsky wanted to offer, deprived 
him of his post, and ordered him to go abroad at once, 
exiling him from the capital, without even allowing him 
to try to clear himself. 

When the war with Japan broke out it was felt that 
whatever might be its end, the miseries that it would 
entail, even if victory came to the Russian arms, would 
serve as subjects not only of discontent, but also of en- 
couragement to the revolutionist party. Consequently, 
rigorous measures became more frequent than before. The 
Minister of the Interior at the time was M. de Plehve, a 
man well known for his despotic character, who had for long 
been at the head of the secret political police before he 
became a member of the Cabinet. He was perhaps the 

315 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

most intensely hated personage in Russia, and in a 
certain measure he had deserved the dislike and the 
animosity of the public, whom he persecuted ruthlessly 
whenever he thought he could detect the least symptom 
of opinions not in accord with those which he advocated. 
During his tenure of office people without number were 
exiled or imprisoned ; a good many were hanged in 
secret in the courtyards of the various prisons in which 
they were confined ; and consciences as well as indi- 
viduals were terrorised not into submission, but into 
silence. 

But Plehve, with all his faults, at least was an honest 
man, a conscientious man, and not a flatterer. He knew 
he was destined to be murdered, but he would not have 
gone one step to escape the danger that he felt was con- 
tinually lurking over his head. He was inexorable in the 
way in which he fulfilled his duties, but he would have 
been incapable of telling a lie to please his Sovereign or 
to gain some personal advantage. Yet his sarcastic temper 
and want of consideration for the feelings of others were 
bound to create enemies even among his colleagues ; 
indeed, they did not scruple to use every means to destroy 
his influence. 

The Emperor considered him something like a watch- 
dog, whose services and vigilance one could not do without, 
but whom one had no necessity to treat decently or to 
admit into one's confidence. One day, when Plehve 
wanted to deal with some matter not immediately con- 
nected with his department, Nicholas H. told him quite 
plainly that he ought not to speak to him about things 
which concerned other people. And yet when the offended 
Minister offered his resignation the Emperor refused to 
accept it, giving as his reason that " He had no one at the 
moment who could replace him so well at the head of the 

316 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

police/' " At the moment/' you will note, to the servant 
of his own creation 1 

Plehve was very fond of knowing everything that was 
going on, and while knowing perfectly well that he had 
any number of adversaries among those who surrounded 
the Sovereign, he wished to be kept aware of everything 
that was going on in the family circle of Nicholas II. 
Having at his disposal all the necessary means of being 
well informed, it was related that he had organised a 
police service at the Imperial Palace of Tsarskoye Selo 
which kept him conversant with all that was being done 
and said there. It was even said that he had had his tele- 
phone wires connected with those of the private telephone 
of the Emperor, and could thus listen to the latter's con- 
versations. This fact, so the report continues, came to 
the knowledge of the Sovereign after the murder of 
M. Plehve, and he was so enraged that he forgot the respect 
due to the dead. He did not attend the funeral ceremonies, 
and it was only with the utmost difficulty that he was 
persuaded to consent to a pension being given to the widow 
of the deceased statesman. 

Plehve was murdered under the most awful conditions. 
He was driving to the Warsaw railway station on his way 
to Tsarskoye Selo for his weekly report to the Tsar. When 
almost opposite the station a bomb was thrown in the 
front of his carriage. The effect was terrible. The car- 
riage and its occupant were reduced to pieces, and it was 
with great difficulty that some remains of torn flesh and 
bones were found and gathered together to be brought 
home. To recognise them was impossible ; nothing re- 
mained to tell that a mighty Minister had been blown 
into atoms. 

The news of the event was at once telephoned to Tsar- 
skoye Selo. The only comment which the Emperor made 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

fc was that it would be necessary to send immediately a 
high official to put under seal the papers of M. Plehve, 
so that none should get lost or mislaid. He did not even 
send a message of condolence to the widow. It was said 
by way of explanation that the news of the murder must 
be held back from the Empress, who was on the eve of 
her confinement, and whose nerves might receive a shock 
in consequence, and that the Emperor did not want to 
leave her at such a time. 

This explanation was not believed by the general public. 
The Emperor, however, did not mind what the world 
thought about him, or in what light it regarded his actions. 
He was only thinking of the child the Empress was expected 
to give birth to. Would it at last be a son, an heir to the 
dynasty of the Romanoffs, or would another daughter be 
born to him ? That was the thought which alone engrossed 
him, and was the first object of his preoccupations. The 
war with Japan had already begun ; our first ships had 
been sunk, several battles had been fought and lost, the 
Petropavlovsk had gone down with its load of men, brave 
Admiral Makaroff at their head ; our soldiers were trudging 
in the dusty, hot plains of Manchuria, suffering from the 
torrid heat until they should perish from the icy 
cold ; thousands of homes were mourning their dear 
ones fallen under the bullets of the enemy ; revolt was 
brooding in the country. Ministers and people in high 
positions were daily falling under the knives or pistols of 
assassins. Yet none of these things concerned Nicholas II. 
so much as the yearning that God should give him a son. 
At last, one August morning, it began to be rumoured 
in Peterhof, where the Court was spending the summer, 
that a happy event was impending. Courtiers and Ministers 
and ladies-in-waiting assembled in the halls of the 
Palace in expectation of the announcement of the birth 

31S 



The Birth of the Tsarevitch 

of the fifth child of the Imperial pair. They did not 
wait very long. As the clock struck noon a doctor 
entered the room and told the assemblage that at last an 
Heir was born to the Throne of All the Russias. 

Great was the joy in the Imperial Family, andgreat'was 
the excitement in St. Petersburg when the guns of the 
fortress proclaimed by three hundred shots that the suc- 
cession to the Throne of the Romanoffs was so far assured 
in the direct line. But through the country as a whole 
the event, which under different circumstances would have 
been hailed with joy, passed almost unperceived, so much 
was the public mind absorbed by the grave political events 
that were taking place. Russia was mourning too many 
of its children to welcome with anything but indifference 
the boy whose advent into the world had filled with such 
joy the hearts and the lives of Nicholas II. and Alexandra 
Feodorovna. 



319 



CHAPTER XII 

THE DEATH OF MADEMOISELLE VIETROFF 

I DID not like to interrupt the preceding chapter by repro- 
ducing in full the proclamation that was distributed among 
the public after the death of Mademoiselle Vietrofi. I 
shall quote it now, believing that it constitutes an historical 
document worthy of remembrance in spite of the harrowing 
details it contains. It is remarkable because it had cer- 
tainly a visible influence upon the subsequent events that 
led to the outbreak of the Revolution in 1905. It was 
very often mentioned as the first appeal of the student 
classes to the masses, who up to that time had not par- 
ticipated in the anarchist movement ; and as such it 
may not be devoid of some interest for the reader. 

This is the document. It was circulated, just as I 
reproduce it, by thousands of copies, without any signature : 

" On the i2th of February of the present year (1897) ^^^^ 
in the fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, after two days of terrible 
sufferings, a student of the Higher School for Women, Marie 
Feodorovna Vietroff. According to the words of the Assistant 
Public Prosecutor, on the loth of February she threw the con- 
tents of a paraffin lamp over her clothes and bedding and 
set fire to them afterwards. As we therefore see, awful cases 
of people burning themselves to death, among other terrible 
ways of committing suicide, as the only means of escaping a 
doom more horrible than death itself, are again occurring. 

** The deceased lady was imprisoned not so very long ago 
(during the night of the 22nd of December). She had been 
accused merely of secreting illegal literature. The only punish- 

.-^20 



Death of Mademoiselle Vietroff 

ment she could legally have incurred, therefore, would have 
been to be sent beyond the limits of the town of St. Petersburg. 

" According to people who knew her well, she was a person 
of very strong personality, and would not shrink from even 
penal servitude in defence of her views. There was nothing 
in her disposition which could have led one to think that she 
would have proved herself to be such a coward as to feel 
frightened at the future that seemed to lie in store for her. 
She was not at all of a melancholy disposition. The letters 
which she wrote to her friends from her prison, and the diary 
which she kept during that time, tend to confirm that belief. 
It was also only latterly that the visits which her sister had 
been allowed to pay had been interrupted ; and during these 
visits she was always very cheerful. 

" What sorrow, therefore, and what despair could have led 
her to put an end to her life in such a horrible way ? 

" She is the only one that could have replied to this moment- 
ous question ; she, or else those who were the direct cause 
of it. But she has already settled her accounts with this life^ 
and, of course, neither the witnesses nor the instigators of 
her fearful death will give a true account of the circumstances 
that brought it about. It is only the few words that have 
escaped the lips of fellow-prisoners of her (who since her death 
have been transferred from the fortress to the house of pre- 
ventive detention) which give a faint inkling of the truth and 
from which we can surmise the details of the tragedy of Marie 
Vietroff's death, and of the circumstances that drove this 
energetic girl to decide upon the step which she took. We 
can only make shrewd guesses that this death was but the 
final end to a moral tragedy of the most painful and awful 
kind. Our presumptions are justified, if we take into con- 
sideration the personality of the deceased on the one hand, 
and the habits and customs in our prisons on the other. The 
tactics observed by the authorities in charge of these estabHsh- 
ments have been sufficiently demonstrated in more than one 
case where individuals have been driven to desperation, or 
tortured to within an ace of death, and then sent out of prison 
to end their lives, where the authorities could not be blamed for 
the result, thus carefully evading the consequences that might 
have resulted had their victims succumbed within prison walls. 

" If, in the case of Mile. Vietroff, the authorities could not 
V 321 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

follow their usual tactics, it means that they must have been 
directly responsible for the miserable end of the wretched crea- 
ture. If this had not been the case, why, during the two long 
days that the unfortunate girl's dying agony lasted, were her 
parents, relations, and friends not informed of her fate ? Why 
was the mere fact of her death kept secret from them for two 
whole weeks, and why were even books taken over for her in 
order to allow her people to believe her to be alive ? Why 
was the fact of her death only revealed when the details of it 
began to ooze through to the public from the tales of the prisoners 
who, after having shared her captivity in the fortress for some 
time, had been released from it ? 

" If the people to whom we have just now been alluding 
had no hand in the death of Mile. Vietroff, they would surely 
have advised her family of it earlier. If they had not been 
the direct cause of her suicide they would have allowed her 
to see her friends before she died, to whom she might have 
explained the reasons which induced her to take such a terrible 
resolution ; and this alone would have turned suspicion away 
from them. 

" Nothing of the kind was done, and this points clearly the 
part which the executioners of the Tsar have had in this 
tragedy. As if we did not know their way of acting ! As if 
we are so very far away from the times when girls were beaten 
to death, and when they also preferred suicide to an existence 
which would have been otherwise spent in the shame of dis- 
graceful remembrances ! As if the tortures invented by the 
Tsar's janissaries were a mystery to us ! 

** We are convinced that only the feeling that she had 
been placed in some position from which there was no escape 
could have driven Mile. Vietroff to the dreadful necessity of 
doing away with heiself, and to prefer suicide to a life tainted 
with unbearable remembrances. We know not what was 
done to her by the mysterious executioners who drove her to 
her death ; and such a death — a death the very mention of 
which sends a cold shudder through our bodies. Such facts 
cannot be kept secret ; they must be made public, if only in 
order to avoid their recurrence ; they mu^t be proclaimed 
everywhere, and in writing this letter we are deeply convinced 
that thousands of people will be eager to assist at the funeral 
service for the dead victim, Marie Feodorovna Vietroff ! " 

322 



Death of Mademoiselle Vietroff 

Thousands of people did assist at these prayers. The 
vast square before the Kazan Cathedral was thronged 
with men and women, crying and sobbing ; and in spite 
of the repeated warnings of the police the vast crowd would 
not disperse. 

Such a manifestation, indeed, as followed upon the 
appeal that I have just now reproduced had not taken place 
in St. Petersburg since the troubled times which had pre- 
ceded the assassination of Alexander II. It created a 
deep impression on all those who chanced to see it ; it 
opened a new era in the history of modem Russia. It 
was the forerunner of the great storm which a few short 
years later nearly drove the Romanoffs from their Throne. 



333 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION 

As can easily be imagined, the reverses which followed 
each other from the very beginning of the war, were 
deeply reflected in the country, and gave but too good 
an opportunity to all the adversaries of the Government 
to try to discredit it in public opinion. After the assassina- 
tion of M. Plehve the anarchists grew bolder, and, en- 
couraged by success, went on with their murderous designs. 
Moscow, which formerly was the centre of conservatism, 
had become, by a strange freak of destiny, the bulwark oi 
revolution. The spirit of the town had always been 
independent, and adverse to the Central Government estab- 
lished in St. Petersburg ; but, on the other hand, it had 
always remained faithful to its Tsars. 

After Khodinka things altered, and distrust of the 
Sovereign, as well as dislike for his Ministers and advisers, 
replaced the former devotion for the person of the monarch. 
The Grand Duke Sergius was intensely disliked, in spite 
of the great popularity of his wife. He was made the 
scapegoat of the mistakes committed by others, and'people 
often accused him of things he had been unable to pre- 
vent as well as of those of which he personally disapproved. 
His entourage, too, were in part responsible for the hatred 
which the population of Moscow professed for his'^person. 
They were for the most part composed of people abso- 
lutely devoid of political sense, who were too weak even 
to flatter, but who thought themselves strong, because 

3M 



The Beginning of the Revolution 

they advocated the use of the stick or of the lash as 
the remedy for all kind of possible evils. 

The Grand Duke himself, whose intelligence was 
moderate, whose education had been conducted on the 
principle of strict obedience to the orders of the head 
of his House, and who had the great defect of believing 
that he possessed principles, whereas he had only passions, 
did not realise the gravity of the crisis which his country 
was going through. He imagined that by hanging a few 
people, and exiling a good many, he would be able to sub- 
due the revolutionary tendencies which he was forced to 
recognise were little by little taking hold, not only of the 
lower orders, but also of the higher classes of Society in 
Moscow. 

He was courageous by nature, more so than his nephew 
and brother-in-law, the Emperor, and he disdained the 
threats which he heard every day levelled at his person. 
However, at the end of the year 1904, these threats assumed 
such proportions that it was deemed advisable for the 
Grand Duke and his wife to remove from the palace of 
the Governor-General, where they resided, to the Kremlin, 
and the Grand Duchess, alarmed by all she heard, and 
having been told that her presence at his side would pre- 
serve her husband from any attempt to murder him, made 
a point of accompanying him wherever he went. How- 
ever, one morning she was prevented from doing so, and 
as if to prove that she had been his guardian angel, it 
was on that very morning that Sergius Alexandrovitch 
was killed. 

A cross is now erected on the spot where he was blown 
to pieces, and reminds the world of this dastardly crime. 
It is useless to repeat its harrowing details, or to relate 
how his mangled remains were picked up during three 
whole days (one of his fingers was found on the roof of 

325 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the Arsenal). The people who first reached the spot 
where the catastrophe had occurred cannot to this day 
speak without a shudder of what they saw. A stretcher 
was brought hurriedly, no one knows from where, and upon 
it were deposited what remains it had been possible to 
pick up ; and whilst this was being done one saw a woman, 
bareheaded, with a blue cloak thrown upon her shoulders, 
hurry up to the spot where the catastrophe had taken 
place and throw herself upon her knees beside the stretcher. 
It was the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who, 
hearing the noise of the explosion, had rushed to see what 
had happened. 

Bravely she followed the soldiers, who slowly brought 
back the remains of the Grand Duke to the Kremlin, and 
her composure in that trying moment of her life was the 
admiration of all who saw it. She found the courage to 
dispatch at once a telegram to the Emperor, in which she 
begged him, among other things, to allow her husband to 
be buried in Moscow, the town he loved so well, as she 
expressed herself ; and she further begged Nicholas II. not 
to endanger his own person by coming to the funeral, and 
to grant her permission to spend the rest of her life 
beside the murdered Grand Duke's grave. 

Her message relieved Nicholas II. from a great anxiety 

and difficulty. He knew very well that his duty would 

have required him to be present at his uncle's obsequies, 

but he did not care to do so at all, and thus expose himself 

to the possibility of a like fate. The request of the Grand 

Duchess gave him the opportunity for which he longed, 

and so he dispatched his other uncle, the Grand Duke 

Alexis, to Moscow, to represent him at the funeral, and 

he replied to his aunt and sister-in-law that he would follow 

her wishes in everything, and that she had only to order 

what she wanted. 

326 



The Beginning of the Revolution 

Elizabeth Feodorovna then did one thing which was 
bitterly criticised afterwards, and not without reason. 
She insisted upon going to the prison where her husband's 
murderer was confined, to hold conversation with him. 
It was said that she wanted to assure him of her forgive- 
ness ; but, as some people remarked, taking into account 
that she could not save him from the gallows, her step 
in visiting him seemed entirely out of place. 

There was in all her actions at that sad time an exag- 
geration which did her more harm than good, and which 
destroyed many sympathies. However, Moscow loved her, 
and perhaps felt grateful to her for her willingness to 
remain in the town where her married life had been 
wrecked. When, later on, she developed considerable 
activity, not only in the domain of charity, but also in 
politics, she still kept the affection of the inhabitants of 
the old capital — ^so much so that it is at least certain that 
if ever another revolution breaks out in Moscow, the 
Grand Duchess will be respected by everybody, equally 
with the nuns of the community of Martha and Mary, 
which she has founded for the relief of the poor and sick 
inhabitants of the city. 

The Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovitch was mur- 
dered in January of 1905, and the year which began with 
this catastrophe was to see many more bloody days before 
it came to an end. About the same time that the fifth 
son of the Emperor Alexander II. met with the same fate 
as his father. Port Arthur fell into the hands of the 
Japanese, and this loss of the fortress on which the atten- 
tion of the whole of Russia had been concentrated for 
long months, put the crowning touch to the general indig- 
nation of the public against the Government. In St. 
Petersburg, especially, where factories abound, and where 
the workmen felt bitterly the economical crisis, which, as 

327 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

a consequence of the war, was ruining the country, the 
agitation assumed quite gigantic proportions. It was felt 
that a revolt, if not a revolution, was imminent, and that 
something had to be done to arrest its progress. The 
misfortune was that no one seemed to know what was 
to be done. 

At that time Count Witte was Minister of the Interior. 
Unscrupulous as ever, clever as usual, he thought that the 
first step to be taken would be to ascertain what really 
were the intentions of the leaders of the anarchist move- 
ment, which lately had assumed considerable proportions 
among the working classes. 

The leaders of this movement had hitherto escaped the 
vigilance of the police, and could not be discovered. On 
the other hand, it was evident that unless the Govern- 
ment discovered the intentions of these leaders, fight was 
impossible and no measures could be taken to check the 
evil. It was then that he bethought himself of resorting 
to the old method of agents provocateurs, through the help 
of whom he hoped to get at last to the bottom of the vast 
conspiracy, the existence of which no one denied. 

Whilst he was looking around him for a man willing 
to take upon himself such a part, one of his old friends in 
Odessa indicated to him a parish priest, called Gapon, 
who, he told him, wielded a considerable influence among 
the working classes of St. Petersburg, and who might be 
useful to him in that respect.. After some hesitation Count 
Witte decided to see the priest in question, and one dark 
winter evening Gapon was introduced into the presence 
of the Minister. 

The two men understood each other at once. Few 
people, indeed, possess the clear insight into human nature 
that has been granted to Count Witte. As soon as he saw 
Gapon he judged that he was false by nature, desirous 

328 



The Beginning of the Revolution 

of enjoying the luxuries of life, in the attainment of 
which he would have no scruples. He was aware that 
Gapon had the advantage of knowing how to talk to the 
masses, how to inspire them with confidence in his person 
and with belief in his expressed principles. Gapon, on 
the other hand, was delighted to find in Count Witte the 
opportunity to win for himself the means whereby, at a 
later date, he could lead an easy, pleasant, indolent life, 
with all the pleasures that money can afford. 

The Government, headed by Witte, felt that some 
pretext had to be found for measures of repression, which 
nothing justified so long as the revolutionary agitation 
was simply increasing. They hesitated to resort to 
measures of violence, which might be difficult to justify 
in the eyes of Europe. The Emperor, too, was constantly 
urging his Ministers to put an end to the discussions 
which he felt, rather than knew, were going on every- 
where in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. Witte himself 
felt that if things were allowed to go on as they were the 
moment might easily arrive when the agitation would 
reach the troops, already exasperated at the disasters 
of the war, and throw them also on the side of the enemies 
of the Government. 

At this moment Gapon proposed to persuade the workmen 
of the different factories around St. Petersburg to present 
a petition to the Emperor. This petition would furnish 
the pretext to actively crush the smouldering rebellion. 

The news that this petition was about to be presented 
circulated everywhere for days before the workmen made 
up their minds to go with it to the Winter Palace. It is 
said that the police took care to spread a report, in the 
hope of producing a general panic, that the masses were 
about to rise, and to attack the Sovereign in his Palace ; 
and following the precedent of the Parisians during the 

329 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

October days which saw the beginning of the end of the 
old French monarchy, to compel him to accede to their 
wishes. What the masses wanted no one knew, and the 
wildest rumours were afloat. Some said that the nation 
wanted peace to be concluded at once, no matter under 
what conditions ; others that it would beg for permission 
to raise a popular militia to fight the Japanese ; whilst 
people eager to appear well informed assured their friends 
that what the workmen wanted was the abdication of the 
Emperor and the establishment of a Republic. Rumours 
without end filled the town, and everybody belonging to 
the upper classes of Society trembled with panic, and 
scarcely dared to come out of their houses. This universal 
anxiety was carefully nursed by the agents of the Govern- 
ment in order to justify the measures it meant to take 
to restore an order that had not yet been disturbed. 

The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, was the only 
person who kept cool, and who would not give way to 
the terror that seemed to have taken hold of everyone. 
She refused to leave the capital, and showed herself pub- 
licly as if nothing was the matter. It was only when the 
Emperor sent her a positive command to retire that she 
consented to leave the Anitchkov Palace and went to 
her own castle of Gatschina. 

Nicholas II. completely misunderstood when told 
about the intention of the workmen to seek to see him- 
self in person, and to lay before him their wrongs and 
their wants. When he was informed that all the efforts 
to disperse the masses about to march towards the Winter 
Palace had failed, he conceived the idea that the Revolu- 
tion had come, and had only one thought : to fly from 
danger ; and in the dead of the night a train was hurriedly 
made ready, and he escaped to Tsarskoye Selo, with the 
Empress and his children, without taking even the time 

330 



The Beginning of the Revolution 

to gather together any of his papers, Alexandra Feodo- 
rovna, indeed, leaving everything behind her, even to 
her clothes and linen. 

It is certain that had anyone been found to tell the 
Emperor to decide to face the crowd he would have sub- 
dued them, only by his appearance before them. The 
Russian peasant has still in his heart a respect for the 
person of the Tsar, and until the present reign he has 
considered him like a father to whom one could always 
apply in case of need. Indeed, on that January day, when 
the workmen and populace of the capital marched to- 
wards the Winter Palace, not one man among this multi- 
tude but thought he would be able to tell his Sovereign 
that he was ready to give his life for him and for his 
dynasty. Not one of them had any thought of rebellion, 
and if that thought came later on it was after the pave- 
ment of the square in front of the Winter Palace had 
been dyed red. 

In the darkness of the night, before leaving his capital, 
Nicholas II. called to him his uncles, the Grand Dukes 
Vladimir and Nicholas, the two energetic men of the 
family, and asked them what they thought ought to be 
done. Vladimir Alexandrovitch was for calling the troops 
to repulse the turbulent masses. A person who was pre- 
sent at this council of war then asked : " But if they are 
not turbulent, then what must one do ? " The Tsar 
threw a terrible glance towards the unlucky speaker and, 
so it is said, replied : "If they are not turbulent, then 
one must treat them as if they were so." The two Grand 
Dukes bowed their heads in silence, and at that moment 
the Empress ran into the room crying that the mutineers 
were coming, and that they must go at once. She was 
holding her son in her arms, and crying violently. Her 
husband threw a cloak over her shoulders, and hurried, 

331 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

together with her, to the door, where their carriage was 
waiting to take them to the station, saying to his uncles as 
he went : " Don't spare them ; kill as many as is necessary." 
Whilst the Tsar of All the Russias was thus escaping 
from his capital with his family, the workmen who were 
causing this panic had also spent a sleepless night. By 
the representations of Gapon they had been induced to 
direct their steps towards the Palace. He had explained 
to them that the best person before whom they could lay 
their grievances was the Emperor, their " little father," 
who loved his people, and who would surely listen to them, 
and do all that he could for them. They had started on 
that road which for so many was to be the road of death, 
singing the National Anthem, and with a large picture 
of the Tsar, which they were carrying before them as a 
shield. Not a single obstacle met them on the march ; 
no police were there to prevent their advance. It seemed 
as if it was agreed to let them pass, and, encouraged by 
the facilities they found everywhere, they believed more 
than ever in the assurances given to them by Gapon, who 
was marching at their head, that they would be received 
by the Emperor. When the procession reached the square 
before the Winter Palace, they suddenly found it to be 
occupied by two regiments of Cossacks. 

It is said that an officer who had followed the proces- 
sion managed to enter the Palace, where the Grand Duke 
Vladimir was holding his council of war, and tried to per- 
suade him that the best thing to do would be to tell the 
multitude that the Emperor was not in town, and induce 
the people to disperse. The Grand Duke would not hear 
of it. " Punished they must be," he said, and there- 
upon gave the order to fire. 

Meanwhile the workmen, not knowing what was going 
on, began shouting their desire to see the Tsar, their 

33* 



The Beginning of the Revolution 

" little father." No reply was given to these appeals, 
no word of warning was spoken, and suddenly, before 
these masses had been able to realise what was happening, 
the troops took to their rifles, and laid low as many of 
the now frightened creatures as they could. 

It is useless to describe the panic that followed. After 
a few moments, when the smoke had dissipated, the square 
was found to be covered with dead bodies and wounded 
men, women, and children. The soldiers fired again and 
again, and when the crowds, struck with terror, fled in 
every direction, they were followed by mounted Cossacks, 
who pursued them all along the Nevski Prospekt, kill- 
ing whom they could, either with their rifles or with 
their whips ; and when all seemed to be over, a cannon 
was fired, sweeping the whole length of the long avenue, 
and laying low all who had succeeded in escaping the 
first charge of the cavalry. 

Gapon had escaped. As the first volley was heard 
he managed to disappear, hidden from friends and foes, 
by the care of the police for whom he had worked so well. 
He escaped to Paris, where he tried to pass as a martyr 
of the cause which he had betrayed. When he returned to 
Russia, as everybody now knows, he was murdered ; not 
by the order of the Revolutionary Executive Committee, 
but by agents of the Government. It was too dangerous 
to allow such a compromising accomplice to live. 

On the evening of the day that had seen such bloody 
scenes enacted within the walls of St. Petersburg, the 
Grand Duke Vladimir went to Tsarskoye Selo, to report 
to his nephew the events that had taken place. Nicholas 
II. listened in silence to the details given to him by his 
uncle. When the latter had finished he is reported to 
have asked : " Are you sure that you have killed enough 
people ? " 

333 



CHAPTER XIV 

PEACE WITH JAPAN ; WAR AT HOME 

The butchery which took place on that sad day of January, 
1905, marked the beginning of a period of unrest that is 
not yet at an end. It gave the signal for a manifestation 
of discontent such as Russia had not witnessed before, 
even during the last days of the reign of Alexander II. ; 
and, what is more, afforded the excuse for it, because even 
the stanchest supporters of the Government were indig- 
nant at the recklessness with which it had tried to sup- 
press what, after all, had not been a rebellion, but only 
a desire on the part of some workmen to see their Sove- 
reign and lay before him their real or imaginary wrongs. 
It is probable that if Nicholas II. had only received these 
poor people there would have been no later Revolution, 
and the agents provocateurs, scattered everywhere by the 
police, would have failed to arouse the masses and per- 
suade them to a rebellion which no one wanted, though 
everybody felt that a change in the methods of govern- 
ment must come. But that change, it had been hoped, 
would be brought about peacefully through the mutual 
efforts of the Tsar and his people. As it was, the events 
which took place on the 22nd of January proved to the 
masses that nothing could be expected voluntarily from 
the Sovereign ; they had to shift for themselves if they 
wanted any amelioration of the system of government. 
The mistake which was committed on that day nearly 
overthrew the Romanoff Dynasty, and it shook their 

334 



Peace with Japan ; War at Home 

Throne perhaps more than the reverses of the war with 
Japan. 

Gapon, nevertheless, did not lose his influence after the 
butchery in front of the Winter Palace. His mysterious 
disappearance from among the workmen, whose depu- 
tations he had headed when they started on their sadly 
momentous journey, had been attributed to the watch- 
fulness of his friends, who had wanted to preserve him 
from the reprisals of the police. As a consequence, when 
he reappeared and tried to reorganise secret committees, 
and to devise new means of disseminating among the 
working classes the liberal opinions he was supposed to 
profess, he was received by them with great enthusiasm. 
He was a consummate actor, and possessed to perfection 
the art of advertising himself. He contrived to impress 
his victims with the idea that he was considered by the 
Government to be one of its most serious and dangerous 
adversaries. 

Whilst he was doing his best to excite the masses, and 
urge them to violent measures, he was also in constant 
communication with M. Witte, whom he kept informed of 
all that was going on among the revolutionary secret 
societies, who were energetically preparing themselves 
for a struggle which, it was felt everywhere, could not 
be delayed for any length of time. 

However, there were those among the enthusiasts who 
began to get suspicious as to the facility with which Gapon 
eluded the vigilance of the police. He constantly said 
that he was being shadowed, and so never could afford to 
spend two nights under the same roof. Yet, somehow, he 
contrived in a marvellous way to avoid the spies who fol- 
lowed him. Of course, it might have been his luck, but 
then it is not often that luck is so faithful to one person, 
and several leaders of the revolutionary movement which 

335 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Gapon was supposed to favour began to watch him and 
follow his movements. They tried to find out what he 
was really doing, and who were the people he most fre- 
quently saw. But the police, who were shadowing Gapon 
the whole time, quickly noticed that he was no longer in 
possession of the same degree of confidence which he had 
previously enjoyed, and that the party to which he was 
supposed to belong began to take important decisions 
without consulting him, without even his being aware, 
of them. M. Witte, who very soon was advised of this 
change in the feelings of the anarchists in regard to Gapon, 
determined then to send him abrc '-1 for some time. His 
mission was to find out from the leaders of the movement 
in London and Paris the information he had not succeeded 
in ascertaining in St. Petersburg. 

Gapon was not sorry to leave Russia, as he felt that 
the part he had been playing was becoming more and 
more difficult every day. Before starting he contrived, 
nevertheless, to furnish M. Witte with some valuable in- 
formation as to the impression produced in the country 
by the sad events that had made the 22nd of January 
such a memorable day in the annals of Russian history; also 
to draw his attention to the unpopularity of the war with 
Japan, as well as the widespread desire, especially among 
the rural classes, to see it ended. 

Count Witte was too clever not to realise the danger 
which threatened the dynasty itself through the continua- 
tion of a struggle that was so unpopular everywhere and 
with everybody. He had been aware — more than any 
other statesman in Russia, perhaps — of the approaching 
peril of revolution, and that it had been ripe for many 
years, only waiting an opportunity to break out. He 
had had great dreams of social reforms at one time, and 
these dreams he had not relinquished, though he could 

336 



Peace with Japan; War at Home 

very well feel that the moment had not arrived when he 
might attempt to realise them. He hoped, nevertheless, 
that his name would be associated in some way with a 
change in the system of government. Unfortunately, he 
was so disliked throughout the country, and had con- 
trived to make so many enemies, that it was doubtful 
whether his best intentions would be received with any- 
thing but mistrust and suspicion. He knew this very 
well, and it was perhaps with the vague idea that it would 
help him to overcome these difficulties that he consented 
to go to Portsmouth, U.S.A., to represent Russia at the 
conferences upon which so much depended. 

When he left for America, M. Witte expected he would 
be able to obtain much better conditions of peace than 
those to which he eventually subscribed. He was aware 
that the Japanese were more or less exhausted, and that 
their financial position was considerably shattered by the 
enormous expenses the war occasioned. He knew also 
that considerable reinforcements had been sent by Russia 
to Manchuria, and that the army therefore was no longer 
in the inferior position in which it had found itself under 
General Kouropatkine. General Linevitch, who had suc- 
ceeded him in the supreme command, was not a military 
genius, but was liked by the troops, and if not able to 
attack the enemy, he could at least to hold his own, and 
not allow his army to be dislodged from the positions it 
occupied. Russia had now some chances in her favour, 
and this had not been the case before. 

A continuance of the struggle might, therefore, be of 
advantage to her, and certainly from a military point of 
view it could be recommended. But M. Witte, who was 
a statesman and not a soldier, looked at things with that 
clear foresight which was one of his predominant quali- 
ties ; and, besides, he had at his disposal sources of 
w 337 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

information such as no one else possessed. He knew that 
the army was not enthusiastic about the war ; that, on 
the contrary, it hoped for peace, and, if the struggle were 
carried on much longer, might, indeed, refuse to march 
against the Japanese. That consideration decided M. 
Witte to consent to conditions which, under different 
circumstances, he would have refused with indignation. 
He hesitated very much before he accepted the articles of 
the Treaty of Portsmouth, and at .he last moment nearly 
broke o££ the negotiations. Just then, however, he received 
certain information from Russia that did away with his 
last scruples, whereupon he concluded peace with Japan. 

The Emperor was not pleased with him, though he 
felt constrained to acknowledge his services. Accord- 
ingly, on his return to Russia, M. Witte was received 
with pomp, and many honours were awarded to him. The 
title of Count was conferred upon him, and his wife was 
at last presented to the Empress, thus realising her secret 
ambition ever since the day when she married Sergius 
loulievitch. But through it all he was conscious of the 
Emperor's personal dislike. He knew that Nicholas had 
sent him to combat the astuteness of the Japanese dip- 
lomatists, simply because, in the terrible dearth of capable 
men from which Russia suffered, he was the only strong 
man, and Nicholas II. felt obliged to acknowledge this fact. 

But even Count Witte would have failed in the diffi- 
cult mission that had been imposed upon him had the 
Japanese been aware of the spirit of rebellion and dis- 
satisfaction that undermined the feelings of loyalty of 
the army. His great art lay in the amount of bluff which 
he displayed during these important peace negotiations. 
Very often, when almost breaking down under the weight 
of responsibility, he appeared to be quite firm and per- 
fectly decided not to yield one inch of his pretensions ; 

338 



Peace with Japan ; War at Home 

whilst in reality he was trembling at the thought of what 
would occur were his words taken seriously and the 
Japanese proved as obdurate as he pretended to be. He 
feared still more that the latter might receive from Man- 
churia reports that would at once put them au fait with 
what was going on in the ranks of the Russian army, about 
whose real feelings he was but too well informed. 

In a conversation which he had with the Emperor 
when he was received by him in Tsarskoye Selo, after his 
return from America, Count Witte spoke quite openly 
and frankly with the Sovereign, and did not hide from 
him the necessity that existed for making concessions to 
the public mind, and for granting certain liberties before 
they were imposed upon the Crown by the will of the 
multitude. He drew the attention of the monarch to 
the great progress which revolutionary ideas had made 
among the army, and of the dissatisfaction which was 
fast shaking its loyalty and its submissiveness, not only 
to its chiefs, but also to the person of the Tsar himself. 

Nor did he hide the danger that was lurking every- 
where, ready to break out at the first opportunity. At 
last he begged Nicholas H. to allow him to draw out a 
programme of reforms that would meet the requirements 
of the country, the granting of which would pacify public 
opinion, and at least deflect its attention from the preva- 
lent and continued attitude of criticism it adopted, not 
only in regard to the Government, but also as to the 
actions of the Sovereign. 

The Emperor listened to Witte, consented to all his 
propositions, and appeared convinced. Then, as usual, 
he consulted others, and was equally convinced by them 
in their turn, when they told him that he ought not to 
think of reforms of any kind ; that concessions were 
fatal to the monarch who consented to make any, and 

339 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

that Russia was not ripe for a constitutional system of 
government. 

This duel of opinion lasted some days, during which 
no one knew what was going to happen. Meanwhile the 
excitement in the country was fast assuming formidable 
proportions, and from distant Manchuria deplorable reports 
continued to arrive concerning the spirit of discontent 
among the troops. It was growing every day more dan- 
gerous, and foreshadowed the peril which their return 
might cause to law and order throughout the country. 

The working classes, who had suffered so much from 
the war — ^which had arrested the whole industrial system 
by depriving it of so many hands, and had, furthermore, 
caused such misery and poverty among the families of 
those who had been called upon to fight — ^were getting very 
bitter against those in authority. Every day brought the 
Emperor face to face with new and more complicated 
difficulties, and yet he would not make up his mind to do 
anything, or to accept any of the propositions that were 
laid before him. The natural hesitation and want of 
resolution which were the characteristics of his tempera- 
ment prevented him from coming to a decision. On the 
one hand, he could not resign himself to share with a 
responsible Ministry the least portion of his authority ; 
nor, on the other, make up his mind to appeal to the 
country to help him to rule it according to the require- 
ments of modern times. The situation grew daily more 
pressing. It was impossible to keep the army away much 
longer in Manchuria, now that peace had been concluded, 
and to bring it back dissatisfied, among a dissatisfied 
populace, might be the signal for a general rising that it 
might be found impossible to subdue, especially if any 
number of the troops joined it. 

One cannot help pitying Nicholas II. at this particular 

340 



Peace with Japan; War at Home 

period of his existence. He had neither enough insight 
to judge for himself the perils of the situation in which 
circumstances had thrown him, nor sufficient energy to 
make up his mind to one or other course of action. Good 
intentions he certainly possessed. He had seen his father 
keep aloft the flag of autocracy, and he wondered why 
he had not been able to do the same, attributing his failure 
to the fault of his advisers, and never suspecting that it 
was due to his own mistakes. 

He must have suffered unspeakably during the weeks 
that preceded the famous 17th of October which saw the 
promulgation of the manifesto granting to Russia the 
shadow of a Constitution. I use the word " shadow," 
because it was never for a moment intended by the 
Emperor really to fulfil that which he promised. He 
still retained a faint hope that he would be able to elude 
the accomplishment of the reforms which had been wrung 
from him by the force of circumstances. He thought that 
the various local rebellions which had already broken 
out in various parts of the Empire would cease as soon 
as the news of the concessions which he had been obliged 
to promise had been duly published. 

Unfortunately, events did not take the direction he 
had expected. Whilst waiting for the election of that 
Duma which was to represent the constitutional element 
in the government of the country, Russia was passing 
through one of the most terrible crises in its history. 
Never before had the lower orders raised their heads with 
such audacity and such energy. Never before had a 
reign of terror, such as then shook the vast dominions of 
the Romanoffs, carried such fear among all those who 
belonged to the higher ranks of society. The rising was 
general, and Europe does not know to this day the scenes 
of butchery which took place in the provinces, where the 

341 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

peasants not only destroyed the houses and the property 
belonging to the landlords, but also murdered those among 
them who had the misfortune to fall into their hands. 

Moscow, which had always been considered as the 
bulwark of conservatism, was the first town to embrace 
the cause of revolution and to take arms against the 
Government. What happened there passes the limits of 
imagination. Troops were sent from St. Petersburg, 
among others the Semenoffsky regiment of the Guards, to 
subdue the rebellion. When these troops arrived they 
found barricades erected everywhere in the town, and 
they had practically to storm every house separately. 
Deeds of horror took place, and neither women nor chil- 
dren were spared on either side during the several days 
that the struggle lasted. Blood fiowec' freely once more, 
and those who remembered the catastrophe of Khodinka 
said that the events that occurred in Moscow were a con- 
sequence of what had happened on that distant June day, 
when the Coronation of Nicholas II. had been celebrated 
by such a terrible hecatomb of his most faithful subjects. 

But though the Moscow rebellion had been crushed ; 
though repression, and cruel repression, had, outwardly, 
at least, put an end to the Revolution which had in that 
eventful year 1905 shaken the whole of Russia and left 
everywhere its bloody traces, the spirit of agitation that 
lurked in every corner of the country had not been sub- 
dued, and Count Witte — ^who was well aware of this fact 
— ^kept pressing the Emperor to fix a date for calling 
together the Duma, and for the election of its members. 
Nicholas II. hesitated for a long time ; but at last, bend- 
ing before the necessities of the hour, he yielded, and on 
one fine May morning he opened, with much pomp and 
solemnity in the White Hall of the Winter Palace, the 
first Parliament of its kind in Russia. 

342 




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CHAPTER XV 

THE FIRST TWO DUMAS 

It was on a fine May morning that Louis XVI. opened 
the session of the States General at Versailles. It was 
also on a May day that the first Russian Duma met in 
St. Petersburg. More than one person noticed this strange 
coincidence, and wondered whether the tragedy that had 
ended with the murder of the French king was going to 
be enacted over again. As at Versailles, too, in 1789,, 
the ceremony took place with much solemnity, and all 
the pomp of the Russian Court was displayed. The 
Winter Palace opened its doors, and the aristocracy of 
St. Petersburg assembled to witness the inauguration of 
an Assembly from which so much was hoped by many 
people and so much was feared by others. 

I shall never forget that day. I was one of the first 
to arrive at the Palace, and had plenty of opportunities 
to watch the Assembly, and to observe the spectators, as 
well as the Deputies, as they arrived one by one and pro- 
ceeded to the places assigned to them. It was the first 
time that the whole of Russia, as here represented by 
all classes of the nation, had assembled together in one 
room, and the spectacle was curious in the extreme. One 
saw on one side all the great dignitaries of the State, 
Ministers, and advisers of the Crown, military and civil 
functionaries, Court chamberlains, and gentlemen-in-wait- 
ing, maids of honour, high-born dames, fair women, and 
lovely girls — all the flower of St. Petersburg Society, with 

343 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

their diamonds and their long Court trains trailing behind 
them. On the other side were gathered the newly chosen 
representatives of the country : landlords, advocates, 
merchants, noblemen, and peasants, realising for the first 
time their importance from the social as well as from the 
legislative point of view ; men full of illusions, others full 
of hatred ; some believing honestly in the possibility of 
doing good to their fatherland ; others only dreaming of 
destroying the authority under which they had lived 
with such impatience. Ambitions, greed, thirst for power, 
desire for revenge — everything was there, and the sight 
appeared portentous to the onlooker, perhaps because all 
these people kept so silent and unmoved, merely gazing 
before them, with eyes that looked into the future more 
than at what was going on around them. It was the 
great hour of a nation's life, that which decides its ultimate 
fate, and though everybody felt that it was so, yet none 
seemed to realise it, perhaps because we can never under- 
stand the importance of the events in which we are actors. 
The Deputies assembled slowly, and did not seem to 
know very well what the^^ ought to do. In one corner 
the Clerical faction clustered in one compact group, their 
long hair and flowing beards, their different coloured 
cassocks, making them picturesque figures, which com- 
manded attention. Near by, the Peasant members, in 
their long caftans, some of which were not even new, as 
the Emperor remarked to one of his attendants after the 
ceremony was over, stared with interest at all that they 
saw, and appeared as if they did not know why they were 
there. Then, again, the Socialist Deputies kept whisper- 
ing to each other, and glanced with scorn at the part of the 
room where the ladies invited to be present at the open- 
ing ceremony were chatting without appearing to notice 
the Deputies, as they slowly filed before them. The dis- 

344 



The First Two Dumas 

dain in which these representatives of the nation were 
held among Court circles was very apparent, and made one 
feel that the comedy which was being enacted would very 
soon turn to drama and end with tragedy. 

At last the stick of the Masters of Ceremonies made 
itself heard, and the Emperor, with his wife and mother, 
followed by the Imperial Family, entered the room. The 
procession which heralded his appearance reminded one, 
by its splendour, of that far-distant day when he had 
entered Moscow before his Coronation, also preceded and 
accompanied by all the pomp of his splendid Court. But 
the atmosphere was different. Then the nation had 
acclaimed him, now it cheered him ; the cries were the 
same, but the accent was different. 

Nicholas II. appeared nervous ; he was paler than 
was his wont, and he kept twisting his white military 
glove. But there was no kindness in his blue eyes. The 
Empress appeared as cold and disdainful as usual ; she 
seemed bored more than anything else, and scarcely noticed 
the low salutations with which the Imperial party were 
greeted when they came into the room. The Empress 
Dowager, on the contrary, was extremely moved and agi- 
tated. Her eyes were red, and she kept putting up her 
handkerchief as if to wipe away tears. She remained 
slightly behind her son and daughter-in-law, but keenly 
observed the Assembly, as if trying to read their counten- 
ances and to guess what lay behind them. From time 
to time she turned towards her chamberlain-in-waiting, 
and asked him some questions evidently relating to the 
identity of the various Deputies. The Socialist group 
attracted her attention quite particularly, and she watched 
it the whole time the ceremony lasted with something akin 
to anxiety in her lovely dark eyes, which then wandered 
towards her son, resting on him with passionate yearning 

345 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and sadness. Her countenance was perfectly dignified, and 
yet a whole tragedy lurked in her figure as it bent under 
the blessing of the Metropolitan, who celebrated the Divine 
Service with which the pageant began. When it was over, 
Nicholas II. took from the hands of the Minister of the 
Household the paper upon which was written the first 
Speech from the Throne addressed to a Russian legislative 
assembly. He read it slowly at first, a little more hurriedly 
towards the end, but in a determined voice that hardly 
wavered as he proceeded with its contents. Whether he 
felt or not the solemnity of the hour, it is impossible to 
tell; still less to guess whether he was sincere in the 
solemn promises which he made to his people. 

Hurrahs replied to his message, and from the monarch- 
ist side of the Assembly these cheers were the sincere 
expression of a real and frank loyalty. But it was observed 
that the Peasant group was very moderate in the manifesta- 
tion of its feelings, and as for the Socialists, they remained 
silent, though observing a respectful attitude. 

The Sovereign bowed to the Assembly and retired, 
together with the members of his family, proceeding to 
lunch in his private apartments before returning to Tsar- 
skoye Selo. The meal was not very cheerful, although 
everybody agreed that the ceremony had gone off very 
well ; but Nicholas II. seemed angry at some apparent 
want of respect that had struck him in the attitude of 
the group of Deputies belonging to the rural classes ; and 
he had not been impressed by the hostile aspect of the 
Socialist Deputies. He expressed his regret that so many 
advocates had been elected, and the hope that the choice 
of the President of the Duma would be a wise one, and 
would fall upon a man chosen from among the Conserva- 
tive or Governmental party. 

This was not to be. From the very first day it became 

346 






The First Two Dumas 

evident that the Duma was distinctly hostile to the Ministry 
as it was composed at the time, and that it meant seriously 
to perform its task of participating in the government of 
the country. 

The President, who was elected by a large majority, was 
a man enjoying a blameless reputation, and one of the 
most eminent of the Moscow bar, M. Muromtsev. He had 
distinctly Liberal opinions, and was a personage whom 
even his adversaries respected. A strong supporter of a 
constitutional system of government, he meant to do his 
best to help its establishment in Russia and to strengthen 
the authority of the Sovereign by persuading him to share 
it with a responsible Ministry. He was an idealist by 
temperament as well as by conviction, and he had hailed 
with enthusiasm the promises of Nicholas H., whose 
sincerity he had never doubted for a single moment. In 
a certain sense, he belonged to the party that named itself 
the Octobrists, as having been called into existence by 
the manifesto of October 17th, though officially he was 
considered to be an advanced Liberal. He was essen- 
tially an honest man, and possessed, among his other gifts, 
that of a rare eloquence, which had made him a great power 
at the Bar, the more so that he had never consented to 
defend a wrong cause. 

Had the Emperor recognised the rare qualities of 
M. Muromtsev, and had he consented to employ his great 
talents, it is probable that the agitation which shook the 
country during the few short weeks that the first Duma 
was allowed to work would have taken a different direction. 

As is usual in Russia, where every new venture is 
welcomed with enthusiasm until the Government has seen 
fit to quench it, the first Legislative Assembly, or, at least, 
the members of it who belonged to the moderate side, 
although Liberal in their opinions, started to work with 

347 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the best intentions. They seriously believed that their 
Sovereign was frank and sincere with them, that he really 
meant to see to the needs of Russia and to lead the nation 
in the path of order and prosperity, with the help of its re- 
presentatives, who would be better able than his Ministers 
to bring to his notice all the evils which it was essential 
to remove, and all the abuses that wanted remedying. 
It was under such an illusion that they started their labours. 
Little did they guess or think that neither the Tsar, nor 
those among his advisers who enjoyed his confidence, ever 
intended to allow them any other liberty or privileges 
beyond those of talking about things ; there was cer- 
tainly no intention to allow change or modification. 

The first conflict arose when the reply to the Speech 
from the Throne was being discussed. It was then that 
the Radical elements which the Duma contained began 
to make themselves heard, and to throw themselves into 
the fray with all the vehemence of beginners. It must 
not be forgotten that this Assembly, gathered together 
in such an unexpected manner was composed mainly of 
men who had absolutely no experience as to the way 
in which parliamentary debates ought to be conducted. 
Yet, eager though they were to show what they could do, 
they possessed no controlling power, nor were they able 
to keep their discussions within reasonable limits. The 
authority which statesmen of long standing alone can wield 
was entirely absent. It was natural, therefore, that confu- 
sion should ensue. Political parties, in the sense in which 
they are understood in Europe, did not exist then, and do 
not exist even now in Russia, where there are only 
political opinions. How, therefore, could one expect 
unimpassioned, or even reasonable, discussions of the 
innumerable subjects which required attention from such 
an assemblage ? Each was desirous of making his own 

348 



The First Two Dumas 

opinions and his own judgments triumph over those of 
his neighbour. 

The great pity lay in the fact that neither the Duma, 
the Government, nor the Emperor would make up 
their minds to the fact that this first legislative session 
could not be anything more than a trial of constitutional 
government, such as it is understood in Europe ; that 
before framing laws or attempting reforms, one ought to 
learn how to work. Instead of realising this truth, they 
all started with the idea that a great deal could be accom- 
plished at once, and that a Russian Parliament ought 
immediately to take its place with those of other coun- 
tries, where initial blunders were already a thing of the 
past, and where experience had taught that neither reforms 
nor laws could be framed in a few days. 

The root-error was that the Duma believed it could 
at once impose itself and its decisions upon the Sovereign, 
whilst the latter simply wanted to find in it an obedient 
executor of his own will. 

This misunderstanding caused the conflict which very 
shortly led to irremediable disaster. 

The culmination was reached when the important 
question of a responsible Ministry came to be discussed. 
The Duma required it ; the Tsar refused to make up his 
mind to it otherwise than as a mere matter of form. To 
reconcile these two points of view was impossible, and 
it became evident that a struggle was inevitable, which 
could only end in the dissolution of the Assembly or in 
a coup d'etat. 

Strange though it may seem, yet it is certain that, 
had the first Duma not been composed of such clever men, 
it would have fared better. As it was, all the best elements 
that Russia possessed had been elected, and these would 
not consent to become mere puppets in the hands of the 

349 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

(Government. They thought themselves able to share with 
it the task of ruling the country, and they wanted at once 
to prove their capacities in that respect. Had the deputies 
elected been more timid and less intelligent, they would 
have settled quietly to learn how they ought to work, 
and paved the way for their successors, who would have 
found the road clear before them. Unfortunately, all the 
leading people, either in the capital or in the provinces, 
had been selected as members either of the Duma or of 
the Council of State, and these had studied social ques- 
tions too long to believe themselves unqualified to settle 
them. 

Nicholas II. kept himself well informed as to the way 
in which the debates were carried on, and instead of looking 
with indulgence at certain intemperances of language, 
proceeding more from headstrong, though well-meaning, 
ignorance than from anything else, took as personal offences 
words which meant nothing but a desire on the part of 
these impatient reformers to make themselves heard. He 
wanted the Duma to work as if it occupied the same position 
as a local zemstvo, never for one moment imagining that 
the Assembly could look upon itself as upon a power in 
the State. This misunderstanding as to the position in 
which they stood, in regard to each other, led to the 
conflict between the Sovereign and the Duma, which 
ended in the unexpected and violent dissolution of the 
latter. 

That dissolution was the personal work of Nicholas II. 
None of his Ministers had the courage to assume the re- 
sponsibility of such a violent measure, and Count Witte 
absolutely declined to have a hand in it. Even M. Dour- 
novo, the representative of the extreme Conservative party, 
and the strong upholder of autocracy in the strictest sense 
of the word, hesitated before the consequences of this 

350 



The First Two Dumas 

decision. But the Emperor decided upon it, and with one 
stroke of his pen the Duma was dissolved. 

The Liberal Deputies, indignant at the measure, re- 
solved to express their indignation upon paper, and to 
publish it to the whole country. The greater portion of 
the members of the Assembly then went to Viborg, and 
there signed the famous manifesto which exposed their 
wrongs before the world. That act was certainly an 
appeal to rebellion. The mistake of this step was most 
serious. It gave to the Government a reason for action, 
and enabled them to prevent the members of the late 
Duma from proving a future hindrance to its plans. Had 
the Liberal members of the Duma quietly gone home, it 
is more than certain that they would have been re-elected, 
and could have gone on with their requests for reforms, 
which would have had more chance to succeed as time 
went by. The unfortunate journey to Viborg which caused 
the criminal proceedings should never have been under- 
taken. By it they gave the Government the opportunity 
they wanted. The condemnation of the Deputies to several 
months of prison would not have been such a misfor- 
tune had it not had the consequence of making them 
for ever ineligible as Deputies. It was that which the 
Government wanted, and the Liberal party played into 
its hands. 

Months passed, and then a second Duma was called 
into existence. It proved almost as rebellious as the 
first, with one great difference : it contained neither 
clever men, nor men able to do serious work. The second 
Duma also had a brief life, and then the Government — 
which in the meantime had achieved its aim : of silencing, 
though not exterminating, the elements of opposition in 
the nation — proceeded to the third elections, which satis- 
fied it so well that the third Duma lived to die a natural 

351 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

death. About the fourth Duma, whose work has just 
begun, I shall speak later on. 

Whilst Nicholas II. was getting rid of the shadow of 
Parliament with which he had endowed Russia, liis Minis- 
ters were forsaking him one after the other. The Cabinet 
of Count Witte had not survived the first Duma ; that of 
M. Gortoykin, and the one over which M. Dournovo 
had presided, had also not enjoyed a very long existence. 
A new star had arisen on the horizon, a new " Vremeni- 
chik," to use the traditional word applied in Russia to 
the favourite of a Sovereign, had appeared upon the poli- 
tical scene. M. Stolypin was appointed Prime Minister, 
and he contrived to keep that post until he was forcibly 
removed from it by the bullet of an anarchist conspirator^ 



352 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE CAREER OF M. STOLYPIN 

Peter Arkadievitch Stolypin was the son of an aide- 
de-camp general of Alexander II. His father had been 
at one time very popular in St. Petersburg society, and 
through his numerous family connections had made a 
brilliant career. He was a pleasant man, a perfect gentle- 
man in manners, but by no means clever or bright. His 
most salient quality was the perfection with which he 
could indulge for hours in small talk, and it was this 
capacity that had made him such a welcome guest at a 
dinner table or at a party. 

His son, the future Prime Minister of Nicholas II., was 
not very well known among the select circle of Court Society 
in the capital. He had entered the public service when 
quite young, and had been at once sent to the interior of 
the Empire, to work out his advancement step by step. 
After having done so to the best of his capacity, he was 
appointed Governor of the province of Samara, and whilst 
there had attracted the notice of the public and of his 
superiors by the energetic manner in which he had sup- 
pressed local riots. Count Witte was the first man to 
whom it occurred to appoint him to a more important 
post. M. Stolypin, who had only waited for a favour- 
able opportunity to approach his Sovereign, was delighted 
to be called to St. Petersburg, and when he arrived there 
it was with the firm intention to do everything to win 
for himself Imperial protection and Imperial favour ; to 

X 353 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

show himself an able courtier and a faithful executor of 
the wishes and intentions of the master upon whom his 
future career depended. 

He was a man of strong character, but of immense 
ambitions, very personal in all his actions, and secretive 
in his designs. 

In his provincial life he had had no hopes of ever 
making anything else than an administrative career, such 
as Government officials generally do, and the thought 
that he might be called upon to occupy an important 
post in the capital had never entered his mind. When he 
was summoned to St. Petersburg he was at first stunned 
by this unexpected piece of luck, but very quickly re- 
covered himself, and, being a keen observer of human 
nature, no sooner had he been presented to Nicholas II. 
than he had taken an estimate of that monarch's cha- 
racter, and the right way to influence it, so as to obtain 
for himself a leading part in his counsels. The two men 
had much in common, though little real sympathy existed 
between them. Stolypin was certainly more cultivated 
than the Tsar ; also he had more determination, and 
more firmness in character, but there was lurking in the 
corners of his nature the same hardness, the same 
tyrannical tendencies, the same want of heart. Both 
were egotistical, with the difference that one thought it 
was his right to be so, whilst the other only imagined that 
he could win this right for himself. 

Stolypin was brave, but of fatalistic temperament. 
He firmly believed that he would not die before the day 
appointed for him to do so by fate, and that conviction 
made him often appear to be reckless, whilst in reality he 
was only indifferent as to a fate which he thought was 
already settled by a power higher than his own. He 
had been told one day in his youth by a fortune-teller 

354 



The Career of M. Stolypin 

that he would reach a high position, which he would keep 
until his death, and, sceptical though he was on other 
points, he had faith in that prediction, which was to come 
true in so singular a fashion. Authoritative, selfish, mer- 
ciless whenever he feared his personal interests were 
threatened, he succeeded during the years he was in power 
in making himself hated alike by the anarchists he was 
supposed to fight and the Conservatives he was believed 
to protect. 

The ability with which he managed to get all his 
opinions and all his plans approved by the Sovereign would 
have been sure to win him many enemaes, even if he had 
not made himself so offensive everywhere. Disdainful by 
nature, he had not the least regard for the feelings of any- 
one, and did not respect either those of his friends or of his 
foes. His high position, and the unlimited power con- 
ferred upon him by the force of circumstances more than 
by anything else, had imbued him with the conviction 
that he was indispensable, and that everything would be 
allowed to him because there was no one to take his place. 

Another man before him had enjoyed as much, and 
even more of the confidence of the Tsar. It was General 
Trepoff, and death soon removed that rival, who was not 
even a dangerous one, because he had neither the intelli- 
gence nor the cunning that could have made him an 
opponent worthy of notice by Stolypin. 

Since I am mentioning General Trepoff, perhaps a few 
words concerning that personage will not be out of place. 
Trepoff was one of the many children of the famous 
General Trepoff, who had for such a long time held the 
important post of Prefect of the town of St. Petersburg, 
under the reign of Alexander II., and whose attempted 
assassination by Vera Zassoulitch had been the first open 
act of warfare of the Nihilist party. His son began his 

355 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

career in the first regiment of Horse Guards, and at one 
time was considered one of the crack officers in the Society 
of the capital. He was invited everywhere, and at last 
succeeded in ingratiating himself into the good graces of 
the Grand Duke Paul, who was in command of the regi- 
ment. It was the latter who had him appointed head of 
the police in Moscow under his brother, the Grand Duke 
Sergius. Once in Moscow young Trepoff made himself 
pleasant to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and 
at one time public gossip was very busy with their names. 
What amount of truth there lay at the bottom of all these 
rumours it is impossible to say, but the fact is that it was 
on the recommendation of the Grand Duchess that Colonel 
Trepoff, as he was at the time, was called to the head 
of the Okhrana, or personal guard of the Sovereign. 

For some time his influence was very powerful, but it 
did not last long. Trepoff was of an imperious disposi- 
tion, but perfectly loyal to his master. He might have 
been an excellent watch-dog, and, indeed, performed the 
duties of one to perfection ; but he was a man with limited 
education, who held no opinions except those he was ordered 
to have. His reign was very brief, and he did not deserve 
all the hatred expended upon him, because his influence 
would never have been lasting. He did not possess the 
qualities of an administrator, and, short-sighted as Nicho- 
las II. was, he still had noticed this, and would certainly 
have sacrificed Trepoff to Stolypin had he been called upon 
to choose between the two. Fate intervened and saved 
him the necessity. Trepoff died, worn out with too much 
work, and perhaps also with the anxiety of his respon- 
sible post, for which he felt himself to be unequal ; and 
Stolypin remained the only personage capable of lead- 
ing the Government of Russia under the weak and totter- 
ing rule of the Emperor Nicholas. 

356 



The Career of M. Stolypin 

He very soon assumed the attitude of a dictator, and 
in doing so bluffed a good many people into really believ- 
ing that he possessed the necessary qualities of a leader. 
This was not the case. Stolypin pretended to have more 
determination than he really possessed. 

After the dissolution of the first Duma, a measure he 
was the only one to approve, and the only one gifted with 
sufficient courage to execute, he became the object of the 
execration of all the Liberal parties in Russia. An era 
of revolution began in the whole country. Even in St. 
Petersburg rebellion raged, assassinations were frequent, 
and no one felt himself to be in safety. The Nihilists, 
who once more came to the front in the struggle which 
waged between Stolypin and the whole nation, at last 
proceeded to extremes, and the first attempt to assassinate 
the too powerful Minister took place when his summer 
villa on the Islands of the Apothecaries, near St. Peters- 
burg, was nearly destroyed, his children wounded, and 
about forty-five persons killed, whilst he alone remained 
untouched. 

It was on that awful day that M. Stolypin showed the 
fatalism which was one of the dominant traits of his cha- 
racter. Another man would have lost his head, or at 
least given way to discouragement under the blow that 
had struck his daughter and his son. Peter Arkadievitch 
remained perfectly calm, outwardly at least, and he 
never for a single minute thought of resigning the respon- 
sible position which he occupied. On the contrary, he 
seemed to find a compensation for his private sorrows in 
the authority which the dastardly attempt against his 
person and his family had added to those which he 
already possessed. He could now represent to the 
Emperor, with more force than ever, how indispensable 
it was to show no mercy to all those who tried to shatter 

357 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

his Throne and his power, and could obtain the assent of the 
Sovereign to all the measures which he thought impera- 
tive for assuring the latter, and for the welfare of the 
country. 

That country was about the last subject to which 
Stolypin turned his attention. Russia meant nothing to 
him, except in the sense that through her he could gain 
honours and dignities, and advance his own welfare. He 
had, it is true. Nationalist tendencies, and worked towards 
the development of Nationalism in the country, which 
perhaps was another of his many mistakes, and brought 
about the conflict that shortly before his death arose be- 
tween him and the Council of State. In this dispute the 
Council refused to agree to Stolypin's bill for the intro- 
duction of zemstvos, or local councils, in the Polish pro- 
vinces, where they had not yet been installed. When 
that conflict took an acute shape, and he had been defeated 
in the Upper House, Peter Arkadievitch offered his resigna- 
tion to the Emperor. This was merely a move, for he 
had some secret influence with certain personages near 
the Throne, amongst them the Dowager Empress, so it 
was said, who advised Nicholas II. to ask him to keep 
office, to which he at last assented, but not without secur- 
ing conditions which strengthened his authority and made 
him more powerful than ever. 

The country did not approve, and even in St. Peters- 
burg, where individuals were rather chary of expressing 
their opinions, people began openly to attack him. The 
fact was, that everybody was getting wearied of this kind 
of Major-domo of the Palace, which Stolypin had suc- 
ceeded in becoming, and which reminded one of the old 
Merovingian kings and of the dictators who had ruled 
under them. The personality of the Emperor was becom- 
ing submerged in comparison with the importance that the 

358 



The Career of M. Stolypin 

influence of his Prime Minister was assuming. Conservatives 
disliked this effacement of the Sovereign ; Liberals thought 
that if one had to be ruled by an autocrat, it would be 
better to have a Romanoff than one of his subjects. 

Nicholas II. himself became, not perhaps jealous, but 
certainly impatient, at the independence that Stolypin 
displayed, now that he felt his position more secure. Once 
or twice he had found some orders that he had given 
counteracted by dispositions made by Stolypin without 
consulting his Emperor. Nicholas was not a man cap- 
able of forgiving encroachments made upon his authority, 
and certainly not one to forget them. Vindictive as he 
was by nature, the Emperor found the yoke that his Prime 
Minister had forced him to assume heavy to bear, and 
though he felt that the time had not come when he could 
get rid of him, yet one can well suppose that he would 
have seized with pleasure an opportunity to cover Stoly- 
pin with honours and at the same time retire him into 
private life, had he only asked a second time the permis- 
sion to do so. 

The Minister was too observant not to notice that, 
though his influence had not begun to get weakened, his 
person was no longer sympathetic to the Emperor. He 
was, however, determined to keep his post, and to have 
more distinctions showered upon him. He then tried to 
invent some conspiracies against the life of the monarch, 
in order to prove that he was indispensable, and that his 
vigilance was the best safeguard that Nicholas II. could 
find against the many dangers which threatened him. 
Provocative agents began once more to be sent all over 
the country, and the police received energetic orders to 
find conspirators, no matter at what cost. He thought 
that fear was the best means left at his disposal to make 
his position unassailable on the part of those who tried to 

359 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

shatter it. St. Petersburg Society did not take to Peter 
Arkadievitch. It considered him a little in the light of 
an intruder, a parvenu, who had imposed himself upon it, 
and forced an entrance into its rooms. Madame Stolypin, 
too, was little liked, and thought lacking in refinement. 
She came from a worthy family of German origin, who 
had served without distinction, but with much zeal, its 
Sovereign, and which belonged essentially to the middle 
class. Neither her manners nor her tact made her a fit 
wife for a Prime Minister, and a certain spirit of intrigue 
and of gossip, caused her to be disliked, rather than any- 
thing else. She never made herself at home, or popular, 
among the smart circles of the capital, where she was 
received, but seldom welcomed. 

Nevertheless, though the Emperor began to get just 
a little tired of the state of dependence in which M. 
Stolypin kept him, nothing of this impatience appeared 
in public. He was still a favourite, and the man to whom 
everybody turned whenever one was in want of a favour 
or of a protection of some kind. When the Imperial 
Family left for the Crimea in the autumn of the year 
1 91 1, with the intention to stop on its way in Kieff and 
in order to allow the Emperor to be present at some 
manoeuvres in the south of Russia, M. Stolypin accom- 
panied them, and was the principal personage in their 
numerous suite. That journey was to see the end of 
his ambitions and of his career, for it was during its 
course that he was killed. 

The murder took place at Kieff during a perform- 
ance at the theatre. The Prime Minister fell under the 
bullet of one of his own agents, a Jew called Bagrov, 
who had been employed by the political police as 
a spy for a number of years. It was with a ticket signed 
by Stolypin himself that he had obtained an entrance into 

360 



The Career of M. Stolypin 

the theatre, and he fired at his chief with a revolver which 
belonged to the Government, and which had been given 
to him by one of the heads of the Okhrana or private 
guard of the Emperor. Stolypin fell, or rather dropped 
in his chair, with just one exclamation, ** I am done for ! " 
Nicholas II. was sitting with his daughters in the State 
box, but he never made the slightest movement to show 
that he was impressed by the tragical event. The crowd 
that filled the theatre began to cheer him with unusual 
enthusiasm, which he accepted with a slight bow in the 
direction of the audience, but he did not seem to evince 
particular interest as to the fate of his wounded Minister. 
He returned to the Palace without visiting the wounded 
man, or making personal inquiry as to his condition. 

At first there was some hope of saving Stolypin, though 
a renowned physician, who held the post of professor at 
the University of Kieff, at once told his friends that the 
situation was desperate, because the liver had been per- 
forated by the bullet. The wounded man himself had 
no illusions as to his fate, and he bore the terrible sufferings 
which he had to endure with great courage and fortitude, 
asking only from his doctors to keep him alive until his 
wife and family had arrived. A great surgeon was sum- 
moned from St. Petersburg, and everything possible was 
done to ease his last days, but it was felt from the 
very first that a recovery was impossible, and those who 
had expressed some hope had only done so in order to 
spare the feelings of the dying man and of those near 
to him. 

The whole of Russia was aghast at the assassination 
of Stolypin ; even his enemies were dumb with the horror 
of it. Assurances and expressions of sympathy came from 
every side ; the person who appeared the most unmoved 
was the Emperor. It was only on the third day after the 

361 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

attack that he visited the dying statesman. He expressed 
no sympathy to the dying man beyond some conventional 
inquiries and official words of regret. It may be assumed 
that at heart he was neither sorry nor perplexed as to the 
consequences which the event could have, and that, if 
anything, he felt relieved at the solution of the problem 
which the dismissal of M. Stolypin would have proved. 
It was certain that such an eventuality would have arisen 
very soon, because the Tsar could not have borne much 
longer with a man in whom he saw a rival in authority 
rather than a helpmate or a faithful servant. 

Stolypin lingered but a few short days after the one 
upon which he had been struck. The Emperor came to 
his bedside just before the end, and was received by 
Madame Stolypin, who used this opportunity to address 
a few tactless words to the Sovereign, which he resented 
afterwards. Nicholas II. only remained a few minutes 
with the dying man, and after some formal expressions 
of grief he retired. 

Stolypin died two days after this visit. His funeral 
was made the occasion of great manifestations of sorrow 
on the part of the Conservative, or Old Russian party, who 
transformed him into a martyr, fallen for the defence of his 
country and of his Sovereign. 

Nicholas did not consider it to be his duty to attend 
the funeral of his murdered servant. He was to leave 
Kieff for the Crimea on the very day upon which it took 
place,"and it would have been easy enough to put off this 
departure for a few hours. But there was no one to suggest 
it to Nicholas II., who himself never thought of the oppor- 
tunity which he would have had to make himself popular 
had he walked behind the coffin of his murdered Minister, 
and thus showed publicly that he knew how to value the 
services rendered to him and how to recognise them. 

362 



The Career of M. Stolypin 

This indifference contributed considerably to lessen the 
already very small popularity which the Tsar enjoyed. 
M. Stolypin had not been liked ; many people rather 
rejoiced at his death, and for others it came as a great 
relief ; but even his many enemies felt that it ought to 
have produced a terrible impression on the Emperor, 
before whose eyes he had been struck. All wondered at 
the impassiveness the monarch displayed in those tragical 
circumstances, and some asked themselves whether he 
had realised their importance. It seemed strange that, 
after having worked for years with the murdered man, 
after having made him a powerful Minister and a personal 
friend, after having shared with him political anxieties 
and apprehensions of all kinds, after having confided to 
him the welfare of the whole vast Russian Empire, after 
having trusted him above all other people and listened 
to him rather than to anyone else, the greatest proof of 
sorrow that his assassination provoked in Nicholas II. 
took the form of a considerable pension accorded to Madame 
Stolypin. He gave her money, but did not think it worth 
while to offer her the one supreme sign of sympathy he 
could have accorded — ^that of praying beside the coffin 
of her husband. The whole of Russia was represented at 
the funeral service held over the remains of Peter Arkadie- 
vitch Stolypin ; the Emperor alone was missing. 



363 



CHAPTER XVII 

A CHARACTER SKETCH OF M. KOKOVTSOV 

M. Stolypin was not yet dead when people began to 
make speculations as to his successor. He had occupied 
both the office of Minister of the Interior and that of Head 
of the Government. There were, therefore, two most 
important Departments to provide for, and though candi- 
dates were many, eligible people were but few. The 
Emperor did not like to see new faces about him, and this 
added to the difficulty. Of course intrigues went on, and 
ambition as well as eagerness had a considerable part in 
them, because, though everybody knew the great danger 
that attended the position of Prime Minister, it was never- 
theless the most coveted post in the whole of the Empire. 
All the colleagues of the murdered statesman thought 
themselves entitled to become his successor, and each of 
them had his particular circle of friends who went about 
declaring that their candidate had the most chances. 
However, people in the know never doubted for a single 
moment that Vladimir Nicolaievitch Kokovtsov was the 
only man in Russia strong enough to replace M. Stolypin, 
and to take upon himself the onerous duties of Premier. 
But whether he would consent to leave the Treasury, at 
the head of which he had been for some years, was a matter 
of much speculation, and this uncertainty alone prevented 
the majority of St. Petersburg Society from congratulating 
him on his promotion. 

Doubts were very soon at an end, and when M. Kokovt- 

364 




FAMOUS RUSSIAN MINISTERS 



Prince Gortschakov 
M. de Giers 



Count Ignatieff 
M. Stolypin 



M. Kokovtsov 



A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov 

sov was summoned to Livadia his nomination was a fore- 
gone conclusion. Nevertheless, he had a surprise in store 
for the public, because he only accepted the Premiership, 
and refused to give up the Department over which he 
already presided, saying that he knew nothing about civil 
administration, and would only make blunders if he took 
the burden of it upon his shoulders. He recommended, 
therefore, to the Emperor one of his personal friends, M. 
Makarov, as the man most able to fulfil the duties con- 
nected with the direction of Home affairs. 

M. Kokovtsov was a small man, with a short beard 
very neatly trimmed, and a general look of tidiness in 
every detail of his person as well as of his clothes. He 
had a pleasant face and was very affable in his ways, but 
he never looked one straight in the eyes, ahvays seeming 
as if he was too much occupied with his personal appear- 
ance to think of watching that of others. Somehow or 
other he gave one the impression that when he conversed 
with you he was preoccupied with something he had for- 
gotten, and the way in which he kept his glance riveted 
on his coat or on his trousers suggested the idea that these 
garments were dusty, and that he was angry at his valet's 
carelessness in brushing them. In a word, one felt that 
he was too neat, too well groomed, too polite, too civil, 
and too anxious not to forget what he ought to say or 
what he ought to do. His manners seemed to have been 
learned only recently, and somehow one always expected 
to find near him, ready to be consulted, some manual of 
etiquette for beginners, with indications as to what one 
must do in good society, and the errors in which one must 
not fall if one w^ants to frequent the company of cultured 
people. One w^ould have preferred to find some hesitation 
or some impatience in his way of talking or discussing, but 
the clear manner in which he expressed himself always 

365 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

reminded one of fables, recited by children, and learned 
by them at school. This is the impression created. In 
reality, M. Kokovtsov is certainly a clever, intellectual, 
and intelligent man, cultivated, and extremely well read. 
He speaks several foreign languages, of which faxt he is 
inordinately proud, and can hold his own everywhere, 
even with gentlemen born and bred. His own origin is 
neither low nor high, but essentially middle class, and he 
bears the stamp of having lived for a long time with middle- 
class people. His early career in every respect was a 
normal one ; he rose step by step as years went on, and 
whatever duties were imposed upon him he fulfilled exactly 
and thoroughly. In a country where political men are 
many, he would not have been employed otherwise than 
as an excellent sous ordre. In Russia, where there is such 
a poverty of statesmen, he undoubtedly fills the position 
of one. 

Vladimir Nicolaievitch is subtle by temperament, and 
very secretive in all he does. He is excessively alive as to 
his own interests, and it is said that he does not disdain 
to use his official position in order to improve his private 
one. For instance, his brother was chairman of the Kieff 
Voronege Railway, in which he himself possessed a con- 
siderable number of shares. Certain financiers believe that 
the shares in question would never have climbed to the 
high price at which they are now quoted were it not for 
this combination of circumstances. Other examples of 
the history of commercial concerns in which he was inter- 
ested have formed topics for gossip, to the effect that it 
is very much to be regretted that he had allowed people 
connected with him to be suspected of using the informa- 
tion he could have given to them, or the protection which 
it was possible for him to afford to them, in order to 
enrich themselves or to improve their positions. Caesar's 

366 



A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov 

wife enjoyed certainly a better reputation than certain 
persons standing in close relationship with our Prime 
Minister. 

The great defect of M. Kokovtsov is that he is above 
everything a financier, and this is not exactly what is 
required from the Head of a Government, who ought to 
look at things and at facts from a higher point of view 
than that of pounds, shillings, and pence, though these play 
such an important part in the world. 

He has had very great successes in his administration 
of the Russian Exchequer, and certainly he has made for 
himself among European financial and commercial circles 
an excellent position and reputation, which he undoubtedly 
deserves. But his mind has remained for such a long 
time concentrated upon purely material questions that it 
is not to be wondered if other matters interest him less. 
Social matters have very little attraction for him, except 
perhaps in the sense that the condition of the working 
classes being connected with the financial one of the country 
could not be neglected. But it is to be doubted whether 
he has quite realised the danger that threatens not only 
Russia, but the whole world, from the arm^y of artisans 
and factory workmen who now know what force they 
represent, and who want to take the upper hand in every- 
thing. In giving this character sketch I do not wish to 
detract from the solid qualities of the Prime Minister, nor 
to accuse him of lack of political foresight. On the con- 
trary, I am convinced that he has made higher politics 
the subject of his studies, and that he has even mastered 
them in a certain sense, as well as a man who has taken 
to them late in life can do. His intelligence is extremely 
perceptive, and he is not wanting in finesse nor in diplo- 
matic aptitude. His suave manners ensure him success 
with those with whom he has to deal, and certainly these 

367 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

qualities have impressed the Emperor favourably, and 
won him the confidence of his Imperial master ; but never- 
theless he has not proved himself so far able to take a lead- 
ing position among Russian statesmen — I am not even 
thinking of foreign ones. The energy that distinguished 
M. Stolypin is not one of the characteristics of his successor, 
who is only firm where he can do so with impunity, and 
who is not gifted with the courage or the fatalism that 
made Stolypin view with such impassiveness the bullet 
or the knife which he was but too well aware would strike 
him one day. His ambitions also lead him in quite a 
different direction than that in w^hich his predecessor 
travelled. M. Kokovtsov is not of a fighting tempera- 
ment or disposition. He entertains for blood and san- 
guinary deeds the aversion that every clean man feels for 
dirty things, and he is a great lover of his own comfort 
and his own welfare. His placid temper makes him avoid 
every subject of dispute, and he is more insensible, than 
is the case wdth Russians in general, to the honours and 
dignities that have been showered upon him lately. Too 
wise to take upon himself a risk that might endanger the 
reputation for cleverness which he has succeeded in 
acquiring, he has managed to steer clear of difficulties and 
to make others responsible for his mistakes. His refusal 
to take upon himself the difficult duties of Minister of the 
Interior proceeded from the clear perception he had that 
this post was the one where responsibilities are the heavier 
and where one can the least escape them. 

No one knows whether M. Kokovtsov's opinions are 
Liberal or Conservative, so carefully has he always avoided 
parading his views before the public. Some people who 
know him well affirm that he is an opportunist. The fact 
is that he has seldom been cajoled into saying in private 
anything else than what he has uttered in public. 



A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov 

His last speech at the opening of the present session 
of the Duma was certainly a clever production, but it 
hardly bears analysis, because when examined carefully 
its emptiness becomes immediately apparent, and one 
realises that its contents are nothing but vague promises 
for which neither the Government represented by him nor 
the Emperor can be made responsible, so carefully have 
they been worded. 

The Duma does not care for M. Kokovtsov, and does 
not appreciate the adroitness of his mind. At the same 
time it does not entertain for him the respect which, in 
spite of the hatred which he had inspired, it felt for the 
character of M. Stolypin. And if the present Legislative 
Assembly contained more independent elements, it is 
probable that the opposition to the person of the Prime 
Minister would take a more acute form. But the last 
elections have been conducted so entirely under the influ- 
ence of the Government that with the exception of the 
most prominent members of the Opposition, such as M. Mak- 
lakov, M. Milioukov, and others of the same importance, 
scarcely any of the Deputies whose opinions made them the 
antagonists of the Cabinet were re-elected, and the official 
candidates stepped into their places. This last fact was 
entirely due to the clever manner in which M. Kokovtsov 
conducted the election campaign, and the instructions which 
he gave to the Governors of the different provinces of the 
Empire, as to the best way to ensure the success of the 
men in whom he had confidence, and whom he hoped to 
find submissive machines ready to vote according to his 
direction. Nevertheless, even this Assembly, composed 
almost entirely of his creatures and sycophants, became 
disgusted at some decisions of the Government and voted 
against it upon several occasions. In Russia, however, a 

Cabinet does not resign i^ it is in the good graces of the 
Y 369 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Sovereign, and M. Kokovtsov never dreamed of retiring 
on account of the censure of the Duma. 

This does not mean that he will remain long in power. 
Very likely he had hoped to be able to resign the responsible 
post after the tricentennial celebrations of the Romanoff 
Dynasty, and as he did not then receive the title of Count, 
nor the blue ribbon of St. Andrew, he is doubtless waiting 
for another opportunity to arise, after which he will not 
be sorry to retire into private life. 

His private fortune is considerable, and he has judici- 
ously enlarged it during the years that he has been in 
office ; he is clever enough to feel that his personal influ- 
ence on the Emperor is not quite the same as it was 
earlier, and very likely he would prefer to retire into private 
life before this fact became generally suspected. I should 
not therefore be very much surprised if he left the field 
free to more enterprising spirits. He will be glad to retire 
with the knowledge that during his tenure of the Premier- 
ship no political crime darkened it, and that it was not 
disturbed by revolution. 

The fact seems clear that the Anarchist party is once 
more coming to the front, and that very likely we shall 
soon see a new rebellion break out, better organised than 
the last one, with more partisans, and with more chances 
of success. The Universities, where, as usual, riots occurred 
earlier than in any other centre, have lately been the 
scene of tumultuous meetings, during which the students 
discussed the measures adopted by the Government in 
regard to them and in regard to the administration of the 
country. Censure votes were passed, and the agitation was 
so strong that at last the police interfered, with its usual 
brutality, which only aggravated the discontent of all these 
young people, among whom generally are found the first 
elements of a rebellion against the organised order of things. 

370 



A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov 

On the other hand, in the different factories, of which 
so many exist in St. Petersburg, the anarchist propaganda 
has also made enormous progress ; the recent strikes that 
have taken place prove it but too well. Though the country 
is certainly more prosperous than it has ever been, yet 
the growing cost of living has prevented many people from 
feeling this prosperity, and discontent is more apparent 
than a year or two ago. 

M. Kokovtsov must be aware of this state of things, 
and very likely he is just a little tired of the perpetual 
anxiety under which he is obliged to work and to live. 
He is also not quite in accord with his colleagues, and 
not able, like M. Stolypin, to impose his own will against 
their intentions. His relations with M. Makarov, whom 
he had recommended for the post of Minister of the Interior, 
did not for long keep on an amicable footing, and the 
latter had to retire owing to some differences which arose 
between him and the Premier. M. Kokovtsov thought 
that the choice of the new Minister would be left to him, 
but there a surprise awaited him. The Emperor for once 
wanted to appoint a man whom he personally liked, and 
who had pleased him by the manner in which he had 
seemed to enter into the spirit of the orders which he 
had given to him. And without taking the advice of 
Vladimir Nicolaievitch, he appointed in the place of M. 
Makarov, M. Maklakov, Governor of the province of Tcher- 
nigov, a comparatively young man, under forty-five years — - 
an age at which Ministers had never before been chosen — ^who 
had attracted his attention during his journey in the south 
at the time of M. Stolypin's assassination. M. Maklakov, 
whose brother is the leader of the Opposition in the Duma, 
is just as Conservative in his opinions as the latter is Liberal. 
Like all the members of his family, he is clever, and some 
people see in him a second Stolypin. Whether this will 

3/3 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

be so remains to be seen, and it is too early to prophesy. 
The man is unknown, and of course surrounded by flatterers 
and jealous people. Those who see in him the favourite 
of the Sovereign cringe before him, and try to make them- 
selves useful to him ; those, on the contrary, who doubt 
his ability to replace M. Kokovtsov, which rumour says 
will soon be necessary, do not find words hard enough to 
condemn the choice that has placed him at the head of 
the most important Department in the Empire. 

It seems that what drew the attention of the Emperor 
to M. Maklakov was the following occurrence. When 
Nicholas II. visited Tchernigov — it was immediately after 
Mr. Stolypin had been assassinated by the Jew Bagrov— 
everybody around the Sovereign was lamenting the death 
of the Prime Minister, and one thought that by doing so 
one was pleasing the monarch, and that by saying the 
loss which the country had suffered in the person of Stoly- 
pin was irreparable, one was only giving expression to the 
feelings which animated him. M. Maklakov alone remarked 
that though it was terrible and sad that such a dastardly 
crime had put an end to such a useful life as had been 
that of the late Minister's, yet one had no reason to fear 
the future, because with such a wise Sovereign as Nicholas 
II., one was sure that the interests of Russia would not 
be neglected, and that he would know where to look for 
a worthy successor to Stolypin and where to find him. 
The words pleased the Tsar, and when the retirement 
of M. Makarov became an accomplished fact, he called M. 
Maklakov to St. Petersburg, and appointed him in his 
place. 

M. Kokovtsov did not like this, and resented the way 
in which he had been ignored. Friction between the two 
men has already occurred, and may in time result in 
strengthening Vladimir Nicolaievitch in his decision to 

373 



A Character Sketch of M. Kokovtsov 

retire, not from public life, but from the Premiership, in 
the full glory of his success. 

In such a position he would always be consulted in 
important matters and questions, and could enjoy the 
liberty of doing what he liked. One of the amiable weak- 
nesses of the present Prime Minister consists in his admira- 
tion of the fair sex. This has often occasioned severe 
criticism, as it was generally felt that when one has assumed 
the task of ruling an Empire like Russia, one ought to 
be more reserved in one's actions, and not allow the world 
to say that one is ready to forget the interests of the 
country whenever a fair siren has consented to smile upon 
one. The rumour has been current in St. Petersburg that 
one could obtain what was wanted from M. Kokovtsov 
through the intervention of a lady friend. 

But, with all his defects, Vladimir Nicolaievitch has 
done a great service to the Empire, and that was to place 
his veto upon the ridiculous enthusiasm that was engineered 
quite artificially in the country for the cause of the Slav 
kingdoms. At one time it was feared that these madmen 
would entangle Russia in a war with Turkey or with 
Austria, which it is doubtful would prove to the advantage 
of Russia. M. Kokovtsov alone had enough common 
sense to oppose his influence to that folly, and to prevent 
the continuance of this senseless agitation. He exposed 
to the Emperor the situation in which Russia found her- 
self, and the disaster that a war would entail upon her. 
He spoke of the state of the finances, and of the ruin which 
a campaign would bring. He opened the eyes of Nicholas 
II. to the condition of the country, and to the peril that 
threatened the whole world were a general war of the 
different States of Europe to break out. He had the tact 
to impose silence on the Chauvinistic newspapers that 
excited the public mind not only against the Turks, but 

373 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

also against the Government, which would not allow itself 
to be drawn into the quarrel of the Balkan States with the 
Sultan, and he contrived, together with M. Sazonov, to 
avoid difficulties with Austria, and to ignore the provoca- 
tions of the Austrian press. 

Of course, it is impossible to tell what the future holds 
in reserve, but if only for the ability with which during 
the course of last winter, amidst innumerable difficulties, 
M. Kokovtsov has displayed, for the dignity with which 
he has repulsed the advice that was given to him by people 
who spoke of the honour of the country engaged in defend- 
ing the Slavs, and by the firmness which he preserved the 
whole time that the crisis lasted, he deserves the gratitude 
of Russia and of every sane and well-intentioned person 
not only in Russia, but in the rest of Europe also. 



374 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FOREIGN OFFICE UNDER NICHOLAS II. 

The present head of the Foreign Office is M. Sazonov. 
In the chair occupied in former years by powerful per- 
sonalities, such as were Count Nesselrode and Prince 
Gortschakov, sits a small, meek, little creature, with a 
figure and nose that remind one of Don Quixote as 
he is represented in the drawings of Gustave Dore. His 
whole appearance is insignificant, and suggests embarrass- 
ment, nervousness, insecurity as regards his position, 
and uncertainty as to what he is to do or to say. He 
always seems as if he wanted to ask everybody's forgive- 
ness for wrongs done and duties neglected. In a word, he 
lends himself to ridicule, and certainly does not suggest the 
idea of a Minister who gives himself a true account of the 
importance or strength of the position which he occupies. 

M. Sazonov has been often laughed at, and rarely been 
taken seriously, until quite recently, when his conduct 
has come out in a most unexpected light, and he has 
shown, in the way in which he has handled the Near 
Eastern question, true political and diplomatic genius. 
His anxiety as to future complications in which Russia 
might get entangled has made him show a quiet firm- 
ness which no one ever expected from him. It was said 
once in St. Petersburg that our Foreign Minister feared 
the east wind, because it might blow away his frail per- 
son. The words were cruel, and of course were repeated 
everywhere, but they were not deserved. M. Sazonov 

375 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

proved himself to be a very energetic little man, sure of 
himself, and determined to enforce the policy to which 
he had made up his mind. His nervousness served him 
well on this occasion, and his fear of responsibility made 
him avoid all the opportunities, of which he had but too 
many, of assuming any. He had a horror of w^ar, and, 
considering the many partisans that an aggressive policy- 
has had in Russia lately, it was a piece of good luck for 
the country that it did not find an echo in the Foreign 
Office. Had M. Izvolsky been in possession of the chair, 
it is more than likely that we would have been engaged 
already in a conflict with Austria ; under our actual 
Foreign Minister such an eventuality is not to be dreaded. 
But he has common sense, and sees clearly the situation 
in which Russia finds herself at the present day, and the 
impossibility of being able to pursue an aggressive policy 
for some time. As such he is the right man in the right 
place at the right time. 

M. Sazonov was appointed to his present post through 
the influence of M. Stolypin, whose wife was his sister- 
in-law. Whilst Peter Arkadievitch was alive his posi- 
tion was stronger than it is at present, when his policy 
does not find itself in accord with the views of M. Kokovt- 
sov. But upon one point the two men are agreed, and 
that is on the necessity of not giving way to the clamours 
of the press and of the enthusiastic idiots who think it is 
Russia's duty to waste her money and the blood of her 
children in order to further the ambitions of King Fer- 
dinand and the other small potentates w^ho rule in the 
Balkan Peninsula. 

M. Sazonov has always been on good terms with the 
foreign diplomats accredited to the Court of St. Petersburg. 
He does not believe in quarrelling with anybody, and he 
always finds pleasant words to say even to those VN^th whom 

376 



The Foreign Office under Nicholas II. 

he does not agree. He nervously shakes hands with all 
those whom he meets, and always accepts their invita- 
tions, and asks them in return to sit at his hospitable 
board. He could not be unpleasant, and he could not 
say a harsh word, even where deserved. He rules the 
Foreign Office, not with an iron hand, but with a very soft 
velvet glove, and is sometimes afraid of his own sub- 
ordinates ; does not dare to contradict them if they show 
themselves arrogant, and rebukes them only with apolo- 
getic expressions. He cannot scold, and he does not 
know how to punish. But at the same time he has got 
passive firmness, with which so many timid people are 
gifted, which makes them stick to their decisions with a 
persistence that people with a firmer temperament often 
do not succeed in displaying. When M. Sazonov last 
autumn went to Paris and to Balmoral, people did not 
spare him their railleries upon his return home. He was 
accused of haying, like a meek lamb, acquiesced in all the 
propositions which foreign Cabinets had made to him, 
and was laughed at for the result of his journey, which he 
had pompously announced would be peace, whilst war 
broke out almost upon the very day when he reached St. 
Petersburg after his wanderings, compared by an Opposi- 
tion newspaper to those of the Wandering Jew. At one 
time the general belief was that Russia, in spite of the 
opposition of the Government, would be drawn into a 
war, and the wildest rumours circulated everywhere in 
the country. It was said that a secret mobilisation was 
taking place, and that troops were being sent to the 
frontier. M. Sazonov, when questioned, declared that 
he knew nothing about it, and adhered to his protesta- 
tions that Russia did not want war, and that all that the 
papers were saying was nothing but nonsense. 

He has one great quality : people believe him. Perhaps 

377 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

because it is not possible to imagine that this small, 
anxious, and fidgety little man can do anything else but 
speak the truth. There is no guile in him, and he has 
the frankness of a person who has never sinned, even in 
intention. It is impossible not to think him honest, and 
it would be impossible for him to act otherwise than as 
an honest man. 

The fate of Russia is safe in his hands. Under 
his rule, Europe can sleep quietly and not fear a 
complication coming from the Russian Cabinet ; it 
may remain convinced that whenever M. Sazonov can 
find a loophole to escape from a perilous position he will 
do so. He may not be a clever man ; he certainly is not 
a brilliant one. Sometimes he appears grotesque ; he 
seems insignificant always. But he is earnest, sincere, 
and will do his best to fight against those who would 
engage him or his country in a policy of adventures. 

Knowing the man, one cannot for one moment believe 
that those who pretend that Russia is on the point of 
assuming a bellicose policy have the slightest reason to 
say so. Russia, whilst M. Sazonov rules at the Foreign 
Office, will always stick to the position of onlooker on all 
the complications that shake the rest of Europe ; she 
won't engage in them. Of course, things might change 
were he to retire and another person to be appointed in 
his place, or if a new Prime Minister succeeded to M. 
Kokovtsov. This last eventuality is the one to be dreaded, 
but even then it is doubtful whether Russia would ever 
readily engage again in warlike adventures. The severe 
defeat by the Japanese disgusted the whole country, the 
Emperor more than anyone else. Russian foreign policy, 
therefore, for some years at least, will be carried on on the 
principle of allowing our neighbours to settle their disputes 
between themselves. The understanding with England 

378 



The Foreign Office under Nicholas II. 

is based on this principle, and as for the aUiance with 
France, it will serve peace more than anything else, because 
it will moderate the thirst for revenge on Germany which 
exists there. Even the most adventurous of French 
Cabinets will not dare to move when it knows that it can- 
not find support in St. Petersburg, and certainly Ministers 
like M. Sazonov are the best men to prevent useless 
complications. They talk common sense, and the motive 
that guides them is love of peace. 

It must not be supposed, however, that we have no 
turbulent elements in our Foreign Office. Our present 
Ambassador in Paris is of that nature. M. Izvolsky is 
one of those men whose presence alone seems to be the 
signal for strife and complications out of which no exit 
can be found. Wherever this brilliant diplomat has been, 
something has happened to compromise his country and 
his chiefs. There are those who say that his tenure as 
Ambassador at the Court of the Mikado was barren from 
the point of view of utility, because he never even sus- 
pected the military preparations of the Japanese, far less 
reported upon them. 

M. Izvolsky made his career in part through his mar- 
riage with a charming lady, the daughter of Count Toll, 
who for long years represented the Russian Government 
at the Court of Copenhagen. Whilst there he, as well 
as his family, had been intimately received by the King 
and Queen, and had had plenty of opportunities to meet 
the late Emperor and his Consort during their frequent 
stays in Denmark. The young Countess Toll had won the 
favour of the Empress Marie Feodorovna, who continued 
to protect her after she had married young M. Izvolsky. 

As I think I have already related, the post of Copenhagen 
was always very much sought after among our diplomats, 
owing to the opportunities which it afforded them of 

379 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

seeing the Sovereigns otherwise than formally, which was 
the case in St. Petersburg, and it was generally considered 
to be a stepping-stone to higher dignities. \Mien M. 
Izvolsky was appointed to the head of the Foreign Ofhce 
it was an open secret that he owed it to the influence of 
the Empress Dowager ; and it is certain that she never 
wavered in the kind feelings with which she followed the 
progress of his career. M. Izvolsky possesses to perfec- 
tion the art of making himself liked by those who can be 
useful to him. Brilliant in conversation, gifted also with 
an easy pen, which allows him to compose dispatches 
quickly and well, he is shallow and vain by nature. He 
possesses the belief that he is a genius because he can talk. 
He is not greatly liked among his colleagues, and especi- 
ally those in the Foreign Office in St. Petersburg, owing 
to his arrogant behaviour and his disagreeable manners. 
The curt way in which he treats his subordinates, and the 
deferential air with which he handles his superiors have 
made him innumerable enemies. Considerable gossip has 
arisen from time to time concerning his actions in regard 
to promotions in the diplomatic staff during the time 
when these depended upon him. It was said that rich 
people always had the preference, and that Madame 
Izvolsky appeared with new jewels when a certain coun- 
cillor was made an ambassador. As the lady's reputation 
had never been attacked, even by the most ill-natured 
person, it was immediately thought and said that the 
happy councillor had showed his gratitude to the husband 
by offering a little present to his wife. Such things, of 
course, ought not to be discussed in relation to a man in 
the position which M. Izvolsky occupied, but they were 
very freely spoken of, as also was his reputation in money 
matters. 

Count Benckendorff, the Russian Ambassador in 



The Foreign Office under Nicholas II. 

London, belongs also to the number of happy people 
who owe the success of their career to a term at Copen- 
hagen. He had, however, more solid reasons than M. 
Izvolsky to reach one of its most coveted posts. He was 
the son of a man who had been one of the personal friends 
of the Emperor Nicholas H. ; he had married a Countess 
Schouvaloff ; his brother was head of the Household of the 
present Emperor ; his family had always stood in close 
relations to the Throne ; his sister, the Princess Natzfeld 
Trachenberg, had been Mistress of the Robes of the late 
Empress Frederick of Germany. He had therefore every 
right to expect to become an ambassador, and his appoint- 
ment to London surprised no one, and was not even cri- 
ticised by his colleagues. He is a pleasant man, exces- 
sively well bred, with irreproachable manners ; looks 
rather like an Englishman. He speaks English remark- 
ably well, with almost no foreign accent. Not accounted 
a genius, he has tact and the quality not to attempt to 
assume a part for which he is not fitted. He will never 
try to pursue a personal line of conduct in matters con- 
nected with politics, and will always faithfully execute, 
without the least attempt to modify them, the orders he 
receives. He is a gra7td seigneur, and as such is quite in 
his element in London, where this quality is more appre- 
ciated than anywhere else, and, moreover, he likes England 
and English life and English ways. It would be a pity 
if private family matters, as gossip in St. Petersburg 
hints, should oblige him to ask for his recall, and it would 
be difficult to find a successor, although it is well known 
that M. Izvolsky believes himself to be qualified for it. 

Of our other ambassadors I have but very little to 
say. Those in Berlin, Rome, and Madrid are what one 
calls in French, des diplomates de carriere, who have 
risen step by step in the Service and won their appoint- 

381 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ments by hard work. M. Kroupensky, who has recently 
succeeded to Prince Dolgorouky in Rome, had been for 
some years Councillor of Embassy in London, under Baron 
de Staal, and was extremely liked there, though he did 
not go much into Society. He is a pleasant man, inoffen- 
sive, with excellent manners, and knowing very well how 
to hold himself in Society, and how to keep his place. He 
is a well-set-up figure in a drawing-room, and almost as 
smart as his uniform is well embroidered. His nose is 
long, his figure thin, his knowledge of French excellent, 
and of Italian limited. His wife is Eastern by origin, 
and not perhaps an ideal ambassadress, as experience of 
the world rather fails her ; but she does not attempt, un- 
less absolutely necessary, to impose herself or her manners 
anywhere, and remains content to be a good housekeeper 
and a submissive consort to her amiable husband. 

I have not seen much of M. Sverbeev, who replaced 
the late Count Osten Sacken in Berlin, but I believe he 
is a clever though quiet man, and one who enjoys the 
sympathies of all who have come in contact with him. 
His predecessor was so popular at the Court of the Emperor 
William that he will find it difficult to fight against the 
remembrance that he had left behind him. I do not 
think that the Berlin Embassy, under the new regime, 
will see the brilliance of former days, but very probably 
it will become the scene of more formal gaieties. M. 
Sverbeev is a close personal friend of M. Sazonov, whom 
he slightly resembles physically, and, like his chief, he will 
always do the best he can to further the cause of peace 
and to avoid even the semblance of a conflict. 

As for Baron Budberg, who occupies the post of 
Madrid, he is little known in Russia, having spent almost 
his whole life abroad. I have never met him. 



382 



CHAPTER XIX 

ST. PETERSBURG SOCIETY AT THE PRESENT DAY 

Any habitue of St. Petersburg Society during the two 
former reigns who, after a long absence, returned to the 
capital of Russia would scarcely know it again. 

The change brought about in the Society of St .Peters- 
burg since the beginning of the present century is so enor- 
mous that it is a wonder how it could have taken place 
in so short a time. The Society leaders of old have either 
died or gone abroad, or have entirely retired from the 
social world. Family gatherings, which used regularly to 
assemble on certain days such as Christmas, New Year, 
or Easter, at the house of a grandmother, aunt, or uncle, 
take place no longer. People prefer to go to restaurants 
to hear a Roumanian orchestra, or some Bohemian singers, 
rather than cluster round the family hearth, The con- 
straint that formerly characterised the attitude of the 
younger members of a family to their elders has dis- 
appeared so entirely that one wonders how it could ever 
have existed. St. Petersburg Society, which formerly could 
boast of some circles entirely shut to outsiders, groups 
where money was not sufficient to secure an entrance, 
where those who were admitted within the precincts care- 
fully observed certain rules of politeness, and civility, has 
now become a kind of cabaret, where everyone thinks he 
has the right to do what he likes, where good manners 
are unknown, where even young girls are allowed to go 
everywhere, not only without chaperons, but even in the 

383 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

company of young men whom they scarcely know, and 
even go so far as to visit these same young men in their 
fiats, or barracks when they happen to be officers. 

The decorum which formerly was carefully observed, 
and the somewhat stiff but charming way in which 
women used to welcome even their most intimate friends, 
has fled. At present politeness is unknown, formality 
is no longer observed, and gossip has superseded the 
intellectual conversations which were in past days one 
of the characteristics of that portion of St. Petersburg 
Society which belonged to the upper ten thousand. 

Salons like those of the Princess Paschkievitch, of the 
Princess Lise Volkhonsky, or of the Princess H^lene 
Kotchoubey have disappeared. Those incomparable host- 
esses, whose judgments made or marred a social repu- 
tation, whose smiles were accepted as a favour, and whose 
invitations v/ere more eagerly sought after than even 
Imperial ones, have been replaced by women who have 
pushed themselves to the front, either through their 
money or through their audacity ; who gather round 
them people to play bridge or to discuss the most trivial 
and commonplace subjects, who have neither manners, 
nor charm, nor the prestige of a high personal position 
independent of an official one. 

Of former salons that of the Countess Kleinmichel 
alone is still existent, and its mistress is as intriguing as 
ever, and a little less slim, and with a little more " com- 
plexion." Otherwise, she has not altered, her dinners are 
not better ; but her evening parties have still kept their 
attraction for high officials and diplomats of all countries. 

Bridge, however, has replaced conversation, and private 
theatricals the balls of former days. As for flirting, this 
art, which was carried to perfection in those old times 
of which I am thinking, is also extinct. Why should one 

3S4 



St. Petersburg Society at the Present Day 

give oneself that trouble when it is so easy to obtain all 
that one wants without practising it ! 

Small talk is a thing of the past also ; now the only 
thing that one hears is, '* Have you been at the concours 
htppique?'* or "Have you been at the skating rink? " 
An ill-bred familiarity has replaced the courtesy for which 
Russians of the higher classes were famous. Now no man 
dreams of calling a lady, or even a young girl, by their 
family names ; one says " Mary " or " Kitty." Young 
students address maids of eighteen or twenty by their 
nicknames, and no one seems to wonder at this utter 
breach of good manners. 

Parties are dull and stiff, in spite of their utter want 
of decorum. They are no longer a reunion of people 
belonging to the same circle, who meet at the house of 
one of their number to drink a cup of tea and discuss the 
events of the day. These intimate little gatherings are 
no longer considered as being the right thing. They have 
beer, replaced by dinners and parties in which hostesses 
try to outdo each other in the luxury they display. That 
which indicates more than anything else the emptiness 
of the minds of the smart set in St. Petersburg is the fact 
that now no one likes to talk, and that in order to make 
a party successful, one must have something to occupy 
those invited to it. No longer are they ^ able to amuse 
themselves by conversation. One must have either 
bridge, or music, or some such attraction, else people will 
not come. Formerly there were dozens of houses where 
you could go every evening and take a cup of tea quietly, 
sometimes with two or three people, sometimes with the 
hostess only, who knew how to entertain you and to keep 
you talking till long past midnight. Now you will hardly 
find a place where you can hope to be received without 
a special invitation. Men and women are no longer sociable. 

2 385 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

though they are dissipated, and when they meet it is to 
eat and to drink, though not always to be merry. 

One of the reasons for this state of things lies in the 
number of outsiders who have obtained an entrance into 
Society. One Grand Duchess, in particular, is largely 
responsible for this. Her own set is not only fast, but 
vulgar, and, unfortunately, the admittance is easy. It 
is sufficient to have money, to be rich enough to enter- 
tain her, to talk slang, to go every year to Paris, and to 
give her money for all the bazaars that she patronises. 
As her presence at a party makes it at once a smart one, 
and confers an honour on her hostess, it is not to be 
wondered that ladies who formerly would never have been 
admitted into the cream of St. Petersburg Society have 
seized the opportunity that was offered to them and con- 
sistently flattered the Grand Duchess. No one now cares 
for the family antecedents of guests so long as they have 
an abundance of money and can give good dinners. 

Another reason why the moral and intellectual stan- 
dard of St. Petersburg Society has sunk so low lies in the 
fact that now no one controls its decisions. Formerly the 
Court exercised a strong influence on manners and habits. 
At a time when invitations to the Winter Palace decided 
as to the social standing of a person, people had neces- 
sarily to be upon their guard. Not to be invited to a 
ball where one had the right to be admitted constituted 
a social degradation which was never removed. The 
Emperor and Empress, going out into Society, and know- 
ing its leading members, were very well informed as to 
what they did, and knew how to express their disapproval 
where there were reasons for so doing. 

That is now a thing of the past. The Court keeps 
itself aloof from Society. Balls at the Winter Palace are 
a thing of the past. Court invitations belong to history ; 

386 



St. Petersburg Society at the Present Day 

there is no one left to say who ought or ought not to be 
received at places where admittance constitutes an honour. 
People are left to their own inclinations, and inclinations 
always take them where they are well fed, well cared for, 
where they find luxury, truffles, oysters, and champagne 
where there are well-dressed women always willing to be 
admired, and where cards are always laid out on the table 
ready for play. 

There is one very remarkable thing which cannot help 
striking anyone who knew St. Petersburg some twenty 
years ago ; it is that the moral and intellectual standard 
of Society has considerably fallen, while, on the other 
hand, luxury has increased. Smartness is now general, 
whereas formerly it was only an exception. Dowagers 
with caps, and high black silk gowns, which they even 
wore at the balls and parties where they chaperoned their 
daughters and granddaughters, have disappeared ; grey 
hair has become an exception ; the love of dress has 
grown tremendously, and the former simplicity which 
existed, even among very wealthy people, has given place 
to arrogant display. At one time one was often invited 
to dinner in a quiet way, when one sat at a table simply 
laid with some fruit and bonbons, but without flowers, 
which were considered a great luxury. Now you cannot 
be asked to eat a cutlet without large baskets of roses being 
on the table ; but, in nine cases out of ten, the food is a 
great deal worse than when no one dreamed of such acces- 
sories. All is for pomp and for show ; the intimacy and 
privacy of life has gone ; gone, too, are the friends, 
who have been replaced by visitors — ^by no means th« 
same thing. 

Another characteristic feature is the indifference which 
is professed in so-called high spheres to all the moral, 
intellectual, and political questions of the day. Under 

387 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

Alexander II. social reforms were the one subject of 
interest and conversation in the salons of St. Petersburg, 
of which there were many. Under Alexander III. also 
they were discussed, but more among people who knew 
each other very well and saw each other very often. 
Now, after a war and a revolution that shoidd have 
awakened anew the attention of the public as to these 
important problems of the life of a nation, it has entirely 
left off thinking about them. The middle classes, who look 
ahead towards the future and who discuss what it will 
bring to them, now talk about these questions. Society, or 
what goes by that name, gives all its thought to ill-natured 
gossip. They read nothing except French novels of the 
worst kind ; hardly glance at a newspaper ; and their 
ideas about a journey abroad are summed up in a trip to 
Paris — where their whole interest centres in the music- 
halls and other places of the same light character, or 
worse — or a journey to the Riviera, where they gamble 
at Monte Carlo. 

Where formerly were civilised customs, refinement of 
taste, chivalrous manners, now exists an ignorance which 
makes one ashamed of being a Russian. In times of old, 
families belonging to the aristocracy used to pride themselves 
on the good education that they gave to their children. 
Nothing was spared in that direction. Tutors and govern- 
esses were chosen with the greatest care, and the familiarity 
of Russian men and women with foreign languages, foreign 
literature, and scientific and artistic subjects was always 
a matter of comment abroad. Now girls and boys are 
sent to public schools and gymnasia, with the result 
that when they finish their education they can hardly 
write without mistakes in spelling in their own language, 
and they murder all other languages. But of course this 
easy way of bringing up children saves the parents any 

388 



St. Petersburg Society at the Present Day 

amount of trouble, and they are ready enough to find 
excuse for their negligence. 

In fact, Russia as it existed formerly is a thing of the 
past. New men, new manners, new customs have super- 
seded the traditions that made the country great, and 
which had raised it above mere savagery. It is now return- 
ing to its earlier state. Being an old man I can make 
comparisons, and regret the passing away of the courtesy 
of our ancestors, the old ladies in lace caps, sitting in rooms 
with bowls full of dried rose-leaves dispensing fragrance 
all around ; the thoughtful men who seriously discussed 
important questions, and who really loved their country, 
were devoted to its welfare, and lived and died according 
to the old tradition, so beautifully embodied in those 
famous French words : — 

" Mon dme d Dieu, 
Mon bras au roi, 
Mon coRur aux dames, 
Vhonneur d mot." 

Russian aristocracy no longer exists ; there are men 
and women bearing great names, but that is all. St. Peters- 
burg Society has turned into a kind of association of people 
eager only for enjoyment and pleasure, seeking always 
new subjects of excitement, devoid of serious thought, 
and hating serious pursuits. It does not see, or perhaps 
does not want to see, the growing tide of revolution and 
anarchism that is gaining ground every day and preparing 
itself for the struggle out of which it knows it will emerge 
triumphant. 

Attachment to the monarchy has been replaced in some 
by indifference, in many by dislike, in a great number 
by hatred. Nations as well as women like to see strength 
in the hands of those who rule, and unfortunately the 
present monarch is deficient in that respect. His weak- 

3B9 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ness is so well known that apathy has seized hold of all 
those who by their intelligence, their knowledge of men 
and things, their honesty, and their devotion to their 
duty, might have been useful to the Throne as well as to 
the country. They, as well as the greater mass of the 
public, have come to the conclusion that there is little 
that can be done for the welfare of the masses and of the 
nation. Every effort to raise its moral level has failed, 
because the Government is unwilling to give its support to 
those who would have been ready to work in that direction. 

When the phantom of Constitution under which Russia 
is supposed to live to-day was promulgated, some simple 
souls imagined that a great step was taken towards solving 
many social problems, but I do not think that there is at 
present in existence a single person who still fosters that 
illusion. The last elections have proved that when a 
Government wants to crush every manifestation of public 
opinion it can do so. The present, the fourth, Duma is com- 
posed exclusively of supporters of the Cabinet ; at least, 
its majority is strong enough to prevent any measure 
proposed by the Opposition passing through. The Govern- 
ment is forced by its own fault to submit to a state of stagna- 
tion, which, perhaps, indeed it desired to bring about, 
finding it easier to do no work at all. But the Deputies 
are disgusted and discouraged, and, as one of them said 
recently to a reporter of one of the daily papers of St. 
Petersburg, he as well as other members of the Opposition 
seriously think of resigning their seats, so convinced are 
they that they can do nothing useful as things stand at 
present. 

The same discouragement prevails everywhere ; no one 
expects or hopes anything ; everyone grows indifferent, 
and gives his thoughts and attention to frivolous subjects, 
waiting with apathy for the cataclysm which is bound to 

390 



St. Petersburg Society at the Present Day 

come. The only thing that absorbs the pubUc mind is 
how to make money quickly. Financial enterprises spring 
into existence quicker than mushrooms grow in the rain ; 
for the most part they are attended with success, and at 
no time has the thirst for money been so great and so 
general. It is a kind of frenzy that has seized people on 
every hand, and that frenzy perhaps, unknown even to 
those that are attacked with it, may be the expression of 
a feverish haste to get the most they can out of a state of 
things which they feel cannot last much longer. 

And whilst frivolous, stupid, indifferent, smart Society 
is gathering its roses while it may, under its feet grows 
another force, earnest, ambitious, cruel, like all those 
who want to conquer ; savage in its instincts and brutal 
in its actions, a society composed of men who want to 
brush aside ail the old prejudices, all the traditions of 
greatness and love of country. To them belongs the future, 
and with them will come confusion, disaster, ruin, the 
collapse of a nation and of a monarchy. 



391 



CHAPTER XX 

THE EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA AND HER 

CHILDREN 

I HAVE already spoken of the Empress Alexandra Feo- 
dorovna, and mentioned some of the singularities of her 
character. These singularities have lately assumed a more 
decided aspect, and have been the subject of comment by 
the public. When the Empress was quite young her shy- 
ness was attributed to timidity ; but as years went on it 
became evident that her nervous system was seriously 
impaired. The general report was that she wa.s given to 
studying the mysteries of occult science, and that these 
studies proved too much for her nerves. She saw dangers 
where they did not exist, and was always fearing the 
catastrophes which were daily predicted to her by 
spiritualists who sought their own advantage out of her 
weakness. After a time she was prevailed upon to give 
up these people, and she turned her mind towards religion. 
In this connection gossip has had much to say about a 
,monk called Gregor Raspoutine. He was a traveUing 
monk, who went about from one place to another preach- 
ing what he called the Kingdom of Heaven. He sprang 
into notice when he started a campaign with another monk, 
named lUiodore, who also called himself a prophet, and 
who wanted to found a religion of his own. He was the 
abbot of a monastery at Saratoff, where his bishop became 
one of his adherents. At first Raspoutine was a follower 
of lUiodore, then they became enemies, and each denounced 

392 




THE CHILDREN OF THE TSAR 



Grand Duchess Olga 
Grand Duchess Marie 



Grand Duchess Tatiana 
Grand Duchess Anastasia 



The Tsarevitch Alexis 
Photos : Boissonnas &» Eggler, St, Petersburg 



The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna 

the other. Illiodore was soon unfrocked after having 
spent some months as a prisoner in a monastery far from 
Saratoff ; but Raspoutine, in spite of his many vagaries, 
which far exceeded those of Illiodore, escaped prosecution 
owing, it is said, to influence in high quarters. 

He was introduced to the Empress by the Grand 
Duchess Elizabeth her sister, who from her convent in 
Moscow still exercised a great influence over the little 
Court of Tsarskoye Selo. She suggested to Alexandra 
•Feodorovna to call to her the wandering monk, who was 
considered by many people in the light of a saint, and 
to ask him to pray for her and for her children — especially 
*for the Heir to the Throne, who was the object of her 
particular anxiety. 

. * Not long after he was brought to the notice of the 
Empress, Raspoutine is credited with having persuaded 
her that as long as he was allowed to remain she would 
be safe from any danger, and her children, too, would always 
remain unharmed, no matter what might occur. He 
managed to instil in her the idea that it was his protection 
that kept the Heir to the Throne in good health, and 
that if he were to be sent away from the Palace something 
would happen to the child. So intimate became his 
ministrations that whispers were heard, and the matter 
became a general subject of conversation among the 
public, even in far-off provinces. Newspapers began to 
make allusions to it in veiled words, and it was severely 
discussed in the Duma. 

M. Stolypin, who was still alive, tried to send the monk 
away from St. Petersburg, but after he had been assassin- 
ated Raspoutine came back, and his influence became 
stronger than ever. Nevertheless, talk became so pointed 
that when the President of the third Duma, M. Rodzianko, 
was received in private audience by the Emperor, he 

393 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

ventured to make a remark about Raspoutine and the 
gossip to which his perpetual presence at Tsarskoye Selo 

"-gave rise.* Nicholas II. became immediately angry, and 

told M. Rodzianko in severe terms that no one had the 

right to repeat idle tales about the private life of his family. 

Nevertheless Raspoutine was sent away for some time. 

■ • He left the capital for his native village in the wilds of 
Siberia, and for a period nothing was heard about him. 
Then last autumn the Heir to the Throne fell ill at Spaia, 
and the Empress, who was quite frantic, cried out aloud 
that this misfortune had happened because they had sent 
Raspoutine into exile. The monk was recalled, and he 
was once more admitted into the intimacy of the Imperial 
Family. He is always at Tsarskoye Selo, but his presence 
there is kept secret, so that a good many people are not 
even 9,ware that he has returned. But his influence remains 
the same, and it is maintained that the Empress is more 
convinced than ever that it was his prayers that saved 
her son during his last severe illness. 

A lot of rubbish has been written about the illness 
of the Tsarevitch, and the most stupid tales have been cir- 
culated. The reality is sad enough without exaggeration 
making it worse. The child, who has been very delicate 
ever since his birth, suffers from an organic disease of the 
arteries, which are liable to rupture upon the slightest 
provocation and even without cause. Already, three years 
ago, he had to undergo an operation, which was performed 
by Professor Fedoroff, one of the doctors who treated him 
in the autumn of 191 2. The fact was kept secret from the 
public. Every effort was made to keep secret the state 
of health of the little boy, and to prevent the world from 
guessing that it gave rise to uneasiness if not to real anxiety. 

* -The child was worshipped by his parents, who for ten years 
had been waiting for that son upon whose existence so 

394 



The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna 

much depended. When at last he was born he became 
an idol both for his father and for his mother, and indulged 
to such an extent that it marred his temperament, con- 
verting him into a peevish, disagreeable child. Every 
whim he had was gratified at once, and all his innumerable 
caprices were obeyed. The result, as can be imagined, 
has been disastrous. 

Generally children born to exalted positions are brought 
up with the utmost care as regards their moral training 
and their education. The little Tsarevitch was surrounded 
with the utmost vigilance, but unfortunately that vigilance 
was exerted only in the direction of his health and his 
safety. Training he receives none, and education very 
little. 

♦ • The Grand Duke Alexis is now about nine years old, 
but up to the present no tutor has been appointed to him. 
He gets a few lessons from his mother, and once or twice 
a week a master comes to teach him how to read and 
write ; but his only attendant is a sailor, who follows 
him about everywhere, and who is at the same time his 
nurse and his tutor and his guardian. The man is of 
common birth, and though perhaps very devoted to his 
charge, yet can hardly be considered as the proper trainer 
for a future Sovereign. But neither the Emperor nor the 
Empress thinks it necessary to give to their only son a 
tutor of appropriate rank or birth. 

From morning to night the Tsarevitch is told that 
his existence is so precious to his parents that no caprice of 
his is to be allowed to pass without being at once gratified. 
He is constantly impressed with his own importance, and 
already knows very well his rights, though he entirely 
ignores his duties. Arrogant by nature, this arrogance is 
fostered instead of being corrected. No one is allowed to 
rebuke him, or even to contradict him. The Tsarevitch 

395 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

beats his sisters, tyrannises over his servants, and when- 
ever anyone attempts to correct him he instantly threatens 
the unfortunate person with all kind of punishments. 

His entourage, as well as those of his father and 
mother, do nothing but flatter him. No one seems to think 
of the evils such a system of education carries along with 
it, nor to reflect on the fate that menaces the Russian 
Empire should it ever come to be ruled by the spoilt little 
boy who now is Heir to the Throne of the Romanoffs. 

A few years ago an anecdote was circulated everywhere 
in St. Petersburg concerning the small Tsarevitch. It 
seems that one morning Ministers were waiting to be 
received by the Emperor at the Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. 
Among them was M. Izvolsky, at that time head of the 
Foreign Office. He was talking with another person 
seated next to him, and did not notice the Tsarevitch, 
who happened to run through the room. The latter in- 
stantly went up to M. Izvolsky, and in an imperious tone 
told him that " when the Heir to the Throne crosses a 
room Ministers ought to get up.*' M. Izvolsky became 
so confused that he did not know what to do or to say, 
and his confusion became still worse when, a few moments 
later, the Emperor, at the end of the audience which he 
granted to him, asked him what misunderstanding he 
had had with the Tsarevitch. M. Izvolsky hardly found 
words to explain, and Nicholas II. told him then, with 
evident pride, "Yes, later on you will find it harder to 
deal with my son than with me." 

The incident is characteristic, as it shows that the 
Tsar never realised the importance of the words spoken by 
his little son. A far-seeing father would have severely 
rebuked the child for his insolence, and told him that at 
» « six years old one ought to learn one's lessons and not make 
remarks to people whose age and position entitled them 

396 



The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna 

to respect ; but Nicholas II. was only struck with what 
appeared to him to be the spirit of independence shown 
by the Tsarevitch. 

Another anecdote was related about the Tsarevitch. 
It seems that he is always very eager to be saluted by the 
soldiers whom he meets, and by the regiments assembling 
at reviews. Now etiquette in Russia exacts that when 
the Sovereign is present he only is saluted by the troops. 
The boy did not like this, pride being thus rebuked, so 
that whenever he was present at a parade, such as takes 
place at Tsarskoye Selo on the days when a regiment 
celebrates its religious least, he used to run in advance 
of his father so as to be saluted before the soldiers per- 
ceived their Sovereign. This was noticed, and upon the 
representations of the Grand Duke Nicholas, who told 
the Emperor that the troops got so confused at this that 
they did not know what they were to do, or who they 
were to salute, the Tsarevitch was forbidden to leave his 
father's side. 

In spite of a system of education which is only directed 
towards the care of his person in the physical sense, the 
little Grand Duke does not grow a healthy child. Perhaps 
his delicacy is in part responsible for his peevish temper ; 
perhaps it only proceeds from the mistaken way in which 
he is being brought up. But most certainly the boy is con- 
stantly ailing. His mother watches him day and night, 
and he is her only care ; doctors are seldom absent from 
his bedside, his father forgets everything if his little son 
has an ache, but all this does not give the Tsarevitch good 
health. For some years now the Imperial Family have 
spent months at a time at the Crimea in the hope that 
the sojourn in a mild climate will do away with the child's 
weakness, and help him to attain better health. But 
nothing seems to help ; indeed, in the autumn of 191 2 it 

397 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

became impossible longer to hide from the public the 
state of health of the Emperor's only son. Even then, 
however, the precise cause of his illness was not revealed, 
and deceptive bulletins were published, and such mystery 
surrounded the illness of the little boy that it gave rise 
to all kinds of silly tales which were circulated abroad 
and in Russia, among people who had no means of coming 
into contact with the Imperial Family or with Court Society 
in St. Petersburg. 

As I have said already, the truth is sad enough, because 
it is considered certain that there is very little hope that 
the Tsarevitch will reach manhood, and this knowledge 
impels heartfelt sympathy towards his parents, who, after 
having longed for so many years for the birth of this heir, 
now have to resign themselves to the probability that 
his days are numbered. 

It is in part that sad knowledge which makes the 
Empress so extraordinary in her ways, and so inclined to 
call every possible help, whether mystic or material, which 
even faintly gives the barest possibility of saving her son. 
It also explains why she has become so strange, and hates 
so much to see anyone, or to take part in any festivity, 
even for the sake of her daughters. Of these the two 
eldest ones are already grown up and lead sad lives, never 
being permitted to enjoy themselves as girls of their age 
generally do. Rumour will have it that the eldest, the 
Grand Duchess Olga, will soon be married, and one can 
only hope that for once rumour does not lie. 



398 



CHAPTER XXI 

• THE 3OOTH ANNIVERSARY OF A DYNASTY 

It was a bleak and wet though not cold winter morning 
to which St. Petersburg awoke on March 6th, 1913. For 
weeks people had talked about what the anniversary would 
mean to Russia, and had been eagerly awaiting it. For it 
was to commemorate the momentous events that had taken 
place three centuries before, when the deputation of the 
Boyars of Moscow, headed by its venerable Patriarch, 
had set forth for the distant town of Kostroma, to o0er 
the crown of the Ruriks to the young son of the two victims 
of the cruel Boris Godounov, the monk Philaret Romanoff 
and his wife Martha the nun, who had been thrown by 
Boris into cloisters whence he had never expected to emerge. 
How many important events had taken place in the history 
of Russia since that memorable day ! and how closely the 
Romanoff Dynasty had identified itself with the nation 
that had called them to its head in those troubled and 
dark times, when it had seemed that the country was 
going to fall for ever under the Polish yoke ! How many 
sad and terrible, how many glorious pages also had been 
added to the book of its history ! Truly it was an anni- 
versary to be rendered for ever memorable. 

Had Nicholas I., his son Alexander II., or the late 
Tsar been alive, it is probable that some stupendous work 
of charity, as well as a wide political amnesty, would have 
marked that day. The public expected some such thing 
to happen. It hoped that some lasting monument would 

399 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

be raised by the initiative of the Sovereign, to render it 
for ever memorable ; that mercies should be shown, miseries 
relieved, tears dried, an impulse given both to public and 
to private charities ; something attempted to raise the 
moral standard of the people by the creation of new schools 
and educational establishments. In short, they expect- 
antly hoped that the monarch would look from the height 
of his Throne to where so many needs waited to be satisfied, 
where so much was expected to be done, and had to be 
done if Russia was to emerge from her present state of 
semi-barbarism to take her place among the nations. 
Not only in political and social spheres did dire need exist, 
but also and especially exigent was the education of the 
lower classes, which at present constitute in Russia such 
a dangerous element in her social fabric, and who threaten 
to overturn the present order of things without being 
able to replace it by anything rational. 

Nevertheless, March 6th was destined to overthrow all 
these hopes. The manifesto published upon that occasion 
disappointed everybody, even those who benefited by it. 
People had expected as a certainty that a wide political 
amnesty would wipe off old scores, allow old grievances 
to be forgotten, and permit people to begin their lives 
over again. One had hoped that on the morning of that 
spring day some who were living far away in the country 
of eternal snow and ice would wake up to the realisation 
that their exile was over, that henceforward they would 
be free to return to their old homes. Another had believed 
that the words of the nun Martha, when she blessed her 
only son on his being called to the Throne, and wished 
him to reign for the peace and joy of his people, would 
be remembered by her descendant, and that he, too, would 
wish to bring peace to those who trusted him and his 
instincts of mercy. But all these hopes, these tremulous 

400 



The 300th Anniversary of a Dynasty 

anticipations, these flickering visions of mercy and peace, 
failed of realisation. 

Any Sovereign placed in such exceptional circumstances 
would surely have had the impulse to do something for the 
nation in order to improve the general conditions of its 
existence. Such thoughts may have animated Nicholas II., 
but if they did they died before they were given expression. 
A large gift of a few millions coming from his private purse 
w^ould have made him none the poorer, and would have 
brought again to him the popularity which he had been 
steadfastly losing ever since the day of his accession to 
the Throne of the Romanoffs. That sum, spent in building 
new schools, or even hospitals in various large towns in 
Russia, would have made his name and person popular 
all over the country ; would have brought him blessings 
and thanks from millions of poor people whose needs, 
physical and moral, such a gift would have met. But 
apparently no such idea occurred to him or to his Consort. 
On March 6th their only thought was to admire the decora- 
tions and the bunting displayed in the streets of the capital ; 
they accepted the addresses, felicitations, and gifts of their 
subjects. For all the outward expression evinced they 
never, even for one single moment, gave their attention 
to the fact that in return for what was presented to them 
they also ought to give something to those who ofiered 
them all that was in their means to give. 

The amnesty so solemnly promulgated proved to be 
nothing less than a farce. All the thieves and common 
malefactors who were crowding the prisons of St. Peters- 
burg and the other towns of the Empire were set free, 
but the political exiles, men of culture and the highest 
civic and private virtue, were left to their sad fate, with 
only their sorrow and their despairing memories. 

There was one personage who had been the object of 
2 A 401 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

the general pity because a feeling of honesty, unknown 
generally in a man placed in the position he was in at 
the time of his fall and condemnation, had led him to 
tell the truth about the conduct and machinations of 
the political police of which he was the head. M. Lapouk- 
hine had been followed into his exile by the sympathy 
not only of those who knew^ him well but also of many 
persons who had never seen him. It was felt that he was 
a victim of a corrupt order of things, perhaps also of private 
revenge coming from such high quarters that one could 
not even mention them. One had fully believed that the 
three hundredth year of the reign of the Romanoff Dynasty 
would bring him a free pardon and the right to take up 
once more his place in a Society that had never excluded 
him from its midst. But March 6th came and went, and 
nothing was heard about this unfortunate man, and this 
indifference to his fate raised such a storm of indigna- 
tion everywhere that even the feelings of loyalty of many 
which until then had never wavered began to be shaken 
in presence of this arrant injustice. 

A few days later, however, the mistake was rectified, 
and M. Lapoukhine was allowed to leave Siberia; but 
the first impression could not be corrected. It was felt 
that this act of mercy, coming as it did after the time 
it was hoped for, was robbing it of its whole grandeur 
and generosity. On the Jubilee Day it would have raised 
a universal acclamation ; a week later, it fell flat, because 
it appeared to have been merely compelled by the general 
indignation evoked by its neglect on an occasion when 
peace and pardon ought to have been in the forefront 
with a strength that no circumstance and no advice from 
any individual should have been able to restrain. 

The only point in which the amnesty satisfied the 
public was its application to all matters relating to the 

402 



The 300th Anniversary of a Dynasty 

press and its misdeeds. There, for the first time in the 
history of modern Russia, the pardons granted were com- 
plete and without .restrictions, and the satisfaction which 
they provoked was absolutely sincere and heart-whole. 

It is one of the misfortunes of Nicholas II. that he is 
so badly advised by those who surround him. 

The festivities themselves provoked no enthusiasm 
from the crowds. They were damped externally by the 
rain, which fell in torrents during the whole time they 
lasted, and morally by the disappointment provoked 
by the manifesto. The streets were sumptuously deco- 
rated, the illuminations in the town were splendid, the 
ball offered by the nobility of the province of St. Peters- 
burg to the Sovereigns was like fairyland in its mag- 
nificence, but the nation remained indifferent. Its feel- 
ings were not in unison with the spirit of the celebrations ; 
it did not share with the Imperial House the joy that 
House seemed to feel upon so auspicious an occasion. 

The jubilee celebrations had, however, one distinguish- 
ing feature. The Emperor and his family came from 
Tsarskoye Selo, and for the first time since the war and 
the revolution resided for three days in the Winter Palace. 
On March 6th they drove in state to the Kazan Cathe- 
dral for a solemn service of thanksgiving. All the wealth 
and rank of St. Petersburg were assembled there to greet 
them. All the high functionaries of the Empire were 
present. Troops were assembled and lined the streets 
through which the Imperial procession passed. Their 
cheers alone, however, broke the stillness of those streets, 
for the populace was absent. Except a few chosen persons, 
police, and soldiers, none was present from the nation, 
which thus tacitly declined to participate in the festival. 
The Emperor himself looked grave and pale. He drove 
in an open carriage, with his little son seated beside him, 

403 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

and when he entered the cathedral a Cossack from the 
escort took the child in his arms and carried him inside 
the church, where he was placed in a chair beside his 
mother. The sight was inexpressibly sad, because it 
proved the truth of what had been whispered ever since 
the autumn, that the Heir to the Throne was still suffer- 
ing from disease. The white, pinched, small face of the 
boy, gazing anxiously round him at all the sea of human 
beings before him, engrossed with the beauty of the un- 
accustomed pageant, painfully impressed the spectators in 
the cathedral, and many a mother among the ladies pre- 
sent sighed as she looked at him, murmuring to herself, 
" Poor little fellow, what a pity, and how sad for the 
parents ! " 

The members of the Imperial Family who had preceded 
the Sovereign to the cathedral bowed profoundly as he 
appeared through the huge doorway. The Patriarch of 
Antiochus, who had specially travelled to Russia for this 
important occasion, advanced, surrounded by priests, 
monks, bishops, and members of the higher clergy, whose 
flowing hair, long beards, golden robes, and heavily be- 
jewelled mitres added to the picturesqueness of the spec- 
tacle. Everywhere one turned the eye rested on em- 
broidered uniforms, glittering cuirasses, ladies attired in 
white, lighted tapers, and ikons shining forth in the semi- 
darkness of the vast cathedral, with the glory of the dia- 
monds and precious stones which adorned them. The 
choristers intoned the anthem for the day in soft har- 
monies, which gradually grew louder and louder ; whilst 
Nicholas II. and his Consort, bending down before the 
Patriarch, received from his hands the Holy Water which 
he presented to them, and kissed the Cross with which he 
blessed them. 

Then they took up their places under the crimson 

404 



The 300th Anniversary of a Dynasty 

canopy, which had been erected in their honour opposite 
the altar, and facing the miraculous image of Our Lady 
of Kazan, patroness of the church and of Russia. They 
stood there together, the Emperor erect, and with a glance 
that kept anxiously and furtively scanning the faces of 
the assembly as if afraid of meeting some secret danger 
lurking somewhere behind the pillars of the edifice ; the 
Empress robed in white, with the blue ribbon of St. 
Andrew across her shoulder, sadness upon her classic- 
ally beautiful features, was immobile as a statue, save 
when she bent down now and then over the arm-chair in 
which her little son had been placed. Standing a little 
before her, on the right side of Nicholas II., was his mother, 
the sweet Empress Marie, also dressed in white, with 
tears filling her beautiful soft eyes, the only pathetic 
figure in the vast assemblage save the child on whom so 
many hopes were centred, and who, by an irony which 
perhaps was realised by few among the spectators, ap- 
peared to have been brought there for the purpose of 
showing into what weak and frail hands was entrusted 
the future of that proud Romanoff Dynasty. 

The head of it remained in his place throughout the 
Divine Service of thanksgiving, which was celebrated by 
all the bishops. He, too, bent his knee with his subjects 
during the blessing with which it ended, and then slowly 
he left the cathedral. As he appeared on its threshold 
a fleeting ray of sun rested on his head. It reminded me 
of that other glorious Hght that on an occasion perhaps 
even more solemn had hovered above the brow of his 
father Alexander 111. as he emerged from the golden 
gates of the Church of the Assumption in Moscow, with the 
huge diamond crown of his ancestors which he had just 
assumed resting upon it. Nearly thirty years had gone 
by since that day ; the mighty Tsar was lying in his quiet 

405 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

grave, and nearly all those who had accompanied him 
on that memorable day had also disappeared from this 
earthly scene. Nearly everything had been changed, but 
the places and people who knew him no more were 
weeping for him, even amidst the pomp of the present 
festival. 

As I examined the pale, impassive features of his suc- 
cessor, I wondered whether he gave a thought to another 
bleak March morning, when, still a boy, he had waited, 
together with his brothers and sisters, for the return of 
his parents from the Winter Palace, where they had been 
summoned to see a monarch die whose Crown they 
were to inherit. Did he remember, I wondered, the 
first words uttered by the new Sovereign when receiving 
the bread and the salt with which his servants greeted 
him on his entering for the first time his Anitchkov Palace 
as the Tsar of All the Russias, " I will try to be a father 
to my people.*' As the memory of those words rang in 
the ears of the few among that vast company who had 
heard them, what a melancholy contrast they afforded 
to the actual " mercies '* with which Nicholas II. had 
seen fit to celebrate the three hundredth year of the 
accession of his Dynasty to the Throne of the Ruriks. 

As I watched the brilliant procession pass before me, 
I thought, too, of that other far-away May morning which 
had witnessed the Coronation of Alexander III. ; of the 
peace and prosperity which his short reign had brought 
to the vast Empire over the destinies of which he had 
so wisely presided. Whither had fled that peace he had 
tried so hard to establish permanently within his realms ? 
The eighteen years that had elapsed since his death had 
only brought disaster, strife, uneasiness to the nation he 
had loved so well. 

Whatever have been the faults of the Romanoffs, 

406 



The 300th Anniversary of a Dynasty 

whatever mistakes they may have made, whatever cruel- 
ties they have been responsible for, no one can deny that 
they have been strong men. Fearlessly reckless sometimes, 
but always sincere in their convictions and their love for 
their people, never indifferent as to their fate and wel- 
fare. The present Tsar is the first representative of their 
race in whom weakness and indecision find themselves 
allied ; the first whose existence practically counts for 
nothing in the eyes of his many subjects, whom they 
neither respect, fear, nor hate. 

This indifference as to the importance of his person 
has never been more apparent than on that wet morning 
of March 6th, when he left the Kazan Cathedral to return 
to the Winter Palace, after having rendered his thanks 
to the Almighty for the protection accorded to his ances- 
tors as well as to himself. The festival celebrated on that 
day was in no sense a popular one, nor did it leave any 
definite impression. The nation was simply interested, 
and perhaps in a certain degree amused, owing to the 
amount of bunting displayed during the day and the num- 
ber of lamps lighted at night in honour of the occasion. 
Cheers of the kind these gauds provoke were heard, it is 
true ; but sincere enthusiasm was totally lacking. And 
when, two days later, the Emperor, while attending the 
ball given in his honour by the nobility of St. Peters- 
burg, replied to the address of welcome and loyalty with 
which they received him, the very tone in which his 
words were uttered seemed to be utterly wanting in firm- 
ness or conviction. True, the National Anthem was sung 
in reply to the speech of the monarch, and was sung with 
eagerness perhaps, as one might expect from the cultured 
imagination of such an assembly. But one felt, just as 
much, that this eagerness was imposed by circumstances, 
not that it proceeded from one of these inspirations which 

407 



Behind the Veil at the Russian Court 

happen sometimes in the Hfe of nations and unite it in 
one thought and one hope. 

The words, as they solemnly called upon the Almighty 
to protect the Tsar, sounded almost defiant, but by one 
of those strange ironies which happen so often in life, 
they appeared only too appropriate to the needs of the situa- 
tion as they remain at present ; for never, believe me, in 
the whole history of Russia did a Sovereign more need the 
protection of the Almighty than His Majesty Nicholas II., 
Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, does now, in 
this nineteenth yea.r of his sad and unfortunate reign ! 



THE END 



Printed by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.G. 

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